Nadi International Airport Rara ni Waqavuka na Nadi (Fijian) नाडी अंतर्राष्ट्रीय हवाई अड्डा (Fiji Hindi) | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Fiji Limited (AFL) | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Nadi | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Namaka,Ba Province,Western Division,Viti Levu,Fiji | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 18 m / 59 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°45′19″S177°26′36″E / 17.75528°S 177.44333°E /-17.75528; 177.44333 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  NAN/NFFN Location of airport in Fiji Show map of Fiji NAN/NFFN NAN/NFFN (Oceania) Show map of Oceania | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2019) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source: Airports Fiji Limited (AFL)[1] | |||||||||||||||
Nadi International Airport (IATA:NAN,ICAO:NFFN) is the maininternational airport ofFiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on theBa Province in theWestern Division of the main islandViti Levu. Owned and operated by Fiji Airports Limited,[2] it is the main hub ofFiji Airways and its domestic and regional subsidiaryFiji Link. The airport is located at Namaka, 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city ofNadi and 20 km (12 mi) from the city ofLautoka. In 2019, it handled 2,485,319 passengers on international and domestic flights. It handles about 97% of international visitors to Fiji, of whom 86% are tourists.[1] Despite being Fiji's main airport, it is a considerable distance from the country's major population centre; it is located 192 km (119 mi) northwest of the country's capital and largest citySuva and its own airport,Nausori International Airport.
The original airstrips at Nadi were built byNew Zealand from August 1939, being completed in March 1940; they were paid for by the Britishcolonial 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 theSouth Pacific air ferry route and paid for asreverse Lend-Lease.[3] In 1941 American engineerLeif J. Sverdrup discussed progress on the airfields withWalter 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" and initialled it "L.J.S." The extension was actually estimated to cost £750,000.[4]
The airfield was used by theUnited States Army Air Forces when the Pacific War began in 1941, asUSAAF 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, the42d Bombardment Group flewB-25 Mitchells from Nadi. During this period, theU.S. Navy used the airfield as well, labeling itNaval Air Facility Nandi (NAF Nandi).[citation needed]
After the war ended, control of Nadi Airport was handed over to New Zealand on 20 December 1946, and theCivil Aviation Authority of New Zealand began operations from Nadi in 1947. Atindependence in 1970, the Fijian government began participating in the organisation of Nadi Airport, before full control was handed over in 1979.[citation needed]
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).[citation needed]
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 wasColony 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'sWhenuapai Airport which could only take turboprop and piston aeroplanes, onto the newDC-8s andBoeing 707s bound forNorth America andEurope. At one time, New Zealand controlled the world's largestFlight 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. Thefirst coup had just occurred (14 May 1987).Prime Minister DrTimoci Bavadra and his cabinet were under arrest, and tension continued to rise in the country.Air New Zealand Flight 24 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.[5]
In 1999, Fiji Airports Limited was established by an act ofFiji's Parliament as a state-owned enterprise. Its role is to operate and administer airports in Fiji, including Nadi International.[6]
In 2013, a $130m modernisation of passenger terminal facilities at Nadi Airport was commenced by Airports Fiji Limited. Construction firms Hawkins Construction and Pacific Building Solutions were contracted for the works, while Thinc andEC Harris were engaged as asset management consultants.[7] These projects were completed in April 2017, and officially unveiled in June 2018.[8]
In 2019, Airports Fiji announced that Nadi would undergo further improvements, with plans for a new runway extending into the sea and an extension of the international terminal, as well as other projects including smart technologies, added taxiways and a new administration building, fire station and control tower.[9]
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 turnaround area, suitable forBoeing 747s, is to the left of the threshold of Runway 02, in case meteorological factors make departure to the north necessary.[citation needed]
In 2008, aQantasAirbus 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 passenger aeroplane in the world.[citation needed]
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 nearbyMamanuca Islands and Denarau Island cemented Nadi as the centre of Fiji's tourism industry.[citation needed]
Nadi is the operational base forFiji Airways, which services six airports throughout the southwest Pacific, and many more on the Pacific Rim.
TheCivil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAFI) head office is at Nadi Airport.[10]Fiji Airways has its head office in the Fiji Airways Maintenance & Administration Centre at the airport.[11] In addition, Fiji Airlines Limited, operating asFiji Link, is headquartered at the Pacific Sun office at the CAAFI compound.[12] Additionally theFiji Meteorological Service has its headquarters on the airport property.[13]
Fiji Meteorological Service Korowai Road, NAP 0351 Nadi Airport
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related toNadi International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
