Nadi International Airport

Nadi International Airport
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IATA: NAN – ICAO: NFFN NAN Location of airport in Fiji
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Fiji Limited (AFL)
Serves	Nadi
Location	Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji
Hub for	Fiji Airways Fiji Link
Elevation AMSL	18 m / 59 ft
Coordinates
Website	www.airportsfiji.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 02/20 3,273 10,739 Asphalt 09/27 2,136 7,007 Asphalt

Nadi International Airport (IATA: NAN, ICAO: NFFN) is the main international airport for the Republic of Fiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on the western side of the main island Viti Levu. It is the main hub of Fiji Airways and its domestic and regional subsidiary Fiji Link. The airport is 10 km from the city of Nadi and 20 km from the city of Lautoka. In 2011 it handled 2,231,300 passengers on international and domestic flights. Despite being Fiji's main airport, it is quite far away, about 192 km northwest of the country's capital Suva and its airport, Nausori International Airport.

History

The original airstrips at Nadi were built by New Zealand from August 1939, being completed in March 1940, and were paid for by the British colonial authorities. They were extended by New Zealand from November 1941; the first 7,000 feet (2,100 m) runway was completed by January 1942 and the other two by April 1942. The work was requested by the United States of America for the South Pacific air ferry route and paid for as reverse Lend-Lease. In 1941 American engineer Leif J. Sverdrup discussed progress on the airfields with Walter Nash, then New Zealand Minister of Finance. Nash recalled Sverdrup saying that there was no formal agreement for payment for what was called Nandi Airport by America, so on the back of one of his cards Sverdrup drew a cross representing the airfield, wrote "£250,000" (pounds) and initialled it "L.J.S." The extension was actually estimated to cost £750,000 (pounds).

The airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces when the Pacific War began in 1941, as USAAF Nandi [sic]. Early in the war, B-17 Flying Fortresses were flown from Nadi against Japanese targets in the Philippines and Solomon Islands. In 1943, the 42d Bombardment Group flew B-25 Mitchells from Nadi. During this period, the U.S. Navy used the airfield as well, labeling it Naval Air Facility Nandi (NAF Nandi).

After the war ended, control of Nadi Airport was handed over to New Zealand on 20 December 1946, and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand began operations from Nadi in 1947. At independence in 1970, the Fijian government began participating in the organisation of Nadi Airport, and full control was handed over in 1979.

The first tarmac runway was constructed in 1946 at a cost of £46,500; 7,000 feet (2,100 m) by 150 feet (46 m) .

File:Douglas DC-8-63 CF-CPP CPAir Fiji 26.01.71 edited-3.jpg

Nadi Airport in 1971 showing the open-sided covered walkways between the aircraft and terminal. A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8 is pictured.

Then, as now, Fiji was the crossroads of the Pacific – and in those days was even more important as a refuelling stop. The apron was shaded by palms, crotons and hibiscus trees, with whitewashed stone paths connecting it to the terminal. These have now been lost under concrete as the apron has expanded over the years, as aeroplanes larger in both number and size land at Nadi. In the 1940s and '50s, the airport's official name was Colony of Fiji: Nadi Airport, although foreign timetables continued to spell the name in phonetic English: Nandi.

Nadi was selected as the major airport for Fiji mainly due to its location on the drier west coast of Viti Levu.

During the first half of the 1960s, Nadi served as a key airport for transfer of passengers from Auckland's Whenuapai airport which could only take turboprop and piston aeroplanes, onto the new DC-8s and Boeing 707s bound for North America and Europe. At one time, New Zealand controlled the world's largest Flight Information Service (FIS), which at its largest stretched to 10,360,000 square kilometres. All of this was controlled from Nadi.

Drama came to Nadi Airport on 19 May 1987. The first coup had just occurred (14 May 1987). Prime Minister Dr Timoci Bavadra and his cabinet were under arrest, and tension continued to rise in the country. Air New Zealand flight TE 022 made a scheduled stop to refuel, en route from Tokyo (Narita Airport) to Auckland. Ahmjed Ali, an aircraft refueller, used his security card to board the aeroplane and, once in the cockpit, showed the captain that he was carrying dynamite. He wanted passage out of Fiji and the release of Dr Bavadra. The passengers and cabin crew were able to disembark, while Air New Zealand negotiators in Auckland and Ali's relatives in the Nadi control tower attempted to defuse the escalating situation. Eventually, the flight engineer hit Ali over the head with a bottle of duty-free whisky, and he was handed over to the Nadi police.

Operations

File:Aerial view of Nadi Airport from southwest.jpg

An aerial photograph of the airport from the southwest. Runway 02 is in the middle of the photo.

Arrivals and departures are much preferred to be to the south, due to the closeness of the Sabeto mountain range to the immediate north of the airport. A large turn around area, suitable for Boeing 747s, is to the left of the threshold of Runway 02, in case meteorological factors make departure to the north necessary.

In 2008, a Qantas Airbus A380 had to make an emergency landing to disembark a sick passenger, showing that whilst not certified, the facilities at Nadi are sufficient to cater for the largest civilian aeroplane in the world.

Today, the largest concentration of hotels in Fiji has grown up in and around Nadi. As tourism took off in the 1960s, the resorts under construction in the nearby Mamanuca Islands and Denarau Island cemented Nadi as the centre of Fiji's tourism industry.

Nadi is the operational base for Fiji Airways, which services six airports throughout the southwest Pacific, and many more on the Pacific Rim.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAFI) head office is at Nadi Airport. Fiji Airways has its head office in the Fiji Airways Maintenance & Administration Centre at the airport. In addition, Fiji Airlines Limited, operating as Fiji Link, is headquartered at the Pacific Sun office at the CAAFI compound.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

File:Nadi Airport - International Departures.jpg

International departures

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aircalin	Nouméa, Wallis Island	International
Air Kiribati operated by Nauru Airlines	Tarawa	International
Air New Zealand	Auckland, Christchurch Seasonal: Wellington	International
Air Niugini	Honiara, Port Moresby	International
Air Vanuatu	Port Vila	International
Fiji Airways	Apia, Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Funafuti, Hong Kong, Honiara, Honolulu, Kiritimati, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Nuku'alofa, Port Vila, Singapore (begins 5 April 2016), Sydney, Tarawa, Wellington Seasonal: San Francisco (begins 16 June 2016) Seasonal Charter: Taipei-Taoyuan (begins 4 February 2016)	International
Fiji Airways operated by Fiji Link	Kadavu, Labasa, Mana, Rotuma, Savusavu, Suva, Taveuni Seasonal: Vava'u	Domestic
Jetstar Airways	Gold Coast, Sydney	International
Korean Air	Seoul-Incheon	International
Nauru Airlines	Nauru	International
Solomon Airlines	Honiara, Port Vila	International
Virgin Australia	Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney	International

China Southern Airlines has flown a charter flight from Guangzhou to Nadi in May 2015.

See also

• USAAF in the South Pacific

References

Notes

Sources

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Nadi International Airport (official site)
• Fiji Airways (official site)