Faa'a International Airport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Overview

The Faaa International Airport is a relatively small airport. Air Tahiti

Air Tahiti

Société Air Tahiti Société Anonyme is a regional airline with its head office on the property of Faa'a International Airport, in Faaa, Tahiti, French Polynesia, near Papeete. Air Tahiti's network covers 46 islands within French Polynesia, plus the island of Rarotonga...

has flights every day going to all the other islands in French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

while international flights go to different countries such as the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

or New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The airport is on Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

which is an island among the Windward Islands

Windward Islands

The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...

: the eastern part of the Society Islands

Society Islands

The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...

. Moorea

Moorea

Moʻorea is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 17 km northwest of Tahiti. Its position is . Moʻorea means "yellow lizard" in Tahitian...

can be seen across the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

and Mount Tohivea

Mount Tohivea

Mount Tohivea is a volcanic peak at 3,960 feet that is the highest point on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. On its slopes are many streams and fertile soils. There are Hiking Trails along along the summit close to the Belvedere point were people can view the 2 Bays, Mont Routui, and the...

is a major mountain on Moorea. The airport has a 70 foot tall control tower and one long runway for both French Polynesia

French Polynesia

flights over to other islands, and international flights going out of the territory.

Terminals

There are five terminals within one main building. Terminal 2 is the busiest terminal with cafés and souvenir shops. There is an area called the Mahina Lounge. There is one McDonald's at the airport and it is one of the only McDonald's in all of French Polynesia. The conveyor belts are rubber and transport luggage about 40 feet. The floors in all of the terminals are brown tile. There are metal chairs and wooden benches throughout the airport in which people wait for the bus or other islanders to pick them up.

Mahina Lounge

The Mahina Lounge is a small airside after the security area. The Mahina Lounge consists of a small café, a jewelry boutique, and a souvenir shop. The café has only a few chairs and offers wine, French pastries, and other foods. The small restaurant is called the Faaa Cafe and is near the entrance to the Mahina Lounge. The jewelry shop offers Tahitian jewelry and some dresses. The souvenir shop offers postcards, magnets, T-shirts and Tahitian magazines. The souvenir shop has a border with the jewelry shop and people are allowed to go through the border when they have purchased their souvenirs. The open area of the lounge contains 50 purple seats in five rows. When the passengers are ready, they get to go to the departure gate which just behind a wall.

Cafés

McDonald's is at terminal 2 and is close to the conveyor belts. The café of terminal 4 is a major café at the airport and also in all of Tahiti

Tahiti

. There is a small grass ceiling over the café and people can hear the airplanes landing and taking off.

Incidents

On 13 July 1973, Pan Am Flight 816
Pan Am Flight 816
Pan Am flight 816 was an international flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Los Angeles, United States, via Tahiti, French Polynesia....

, a Boeing 707, crashed into the sea just after take-off. 72 of the 73 on board were killed.
On 12 September 1993, Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...

flight 72, a 747-428
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...

, ran off the runway on landing, running into the reef at the end of the tarmac. The nose of the 747 was submerged in the water. There were no fatalities.
On 24 December 2000, Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a major airline of the United States. It is the largest airline based in the State of Hawai'i, and is the 11th largest commercial airline in the country. Based in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, the airline operates its main hub at Honolulu International...

flight 481, a DC-10-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...

, overshot the runway landing and slid off the tarmac during a bad storm. There was one minor injury and no fatalities.

Location and Geography

The airport is located just south of the town center of Papeete

Papeete

-Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront esplanade*Bougainville Park -Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront...

, on the island of Tahiti, in the commune of Faaa

Faaa

Faaa is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Faaa is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. Faaa has a population of 29,851, making...

, the largest commune of French Polynesia

French Polynesia

. Tahiti is located in the northwestern part of French Polynesia, and has the only international airport in the territory. The Papenoo River

Papenoo River

The Papenoo River is a river of French Polynesia. It is located on the island of Tahiti. Where the river fist becomes a river is in the mountains of Tahiti east of the town cener of Papeete. The river ends on the coast of Tahiti near Papeete. The river is about 20 miles long and is about 10 feet...

is the closest river to the airport. Mount Orohena is a major mountain inland from the airport. There is a small pass between the land and the coral reef

Coral reef

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...

where people sometimes swim. The airport is built on some coral reef because of the limited flat land. Just to the north of the airport is a small public beach of Papeete

Papeete

. The airport runway keeps going until it finally ends. To the south of the airport is a small bay where Tahiti's west coast freeway turns inland.

Ground Transportation

Many buses come into the airport from Papeete, the main bus being the Faaa airport shuttle which goes along Tahiti's west coast freeway, which passes in front of the main terminal. The parking lot has traffic guards in which 3,000 people pass through each month. The parking lot has one tiki

Tiki

Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...

External links

Aéroport de Tahiti - Faa'a (Union des Aéroports Français)

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