![Nadi_Airport_-_International_Departures_2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Nadi_Airport_-_International_Departures_2.jpg)
Nadi International Airport is the main
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
of
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
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
Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...
. Owned and operated by Fiji Airports Limited, It is the main hub of
Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...
and its domestic and regional subsidiary
Fiji Link
Fiji Link is the trade name for Fiji Airlines Limited, which is a Fijian domestic airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of the international carrier Fiji Airways. It is headquartered at the Fiji Link office in the Civil Aviation Authority of Fij ...
. The airport is located at Namaka, 10 km from the city of
Nadi
Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...
and 20 km from the city of
Lautoka
Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...
. 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.
Despite being Fiji's main airport, it is a considerable distance from the country's major population centre; it is located northwest of the country's capital and largest city
Suva
Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
and its own airport,
Nausori International Airport
Nausori International Airport , also known as Luvuluvu, is the secondary international airport in Fiji, behind Nadi International Airport. It is situated in Nausori on the south-eastern side of Viti Levu (Fiji's main island). Nausori Airport is r ...
.
History
The original airstrips at Nadi were built by
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
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 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
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
. In 1941 American engineer
Leif J. Sverdrup
Leif Johan Sverdrup CBE (11 January 1898 – 2 January 1976) was a Norwegian-born American civil engineer and general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his service in the Southwest ...
discussed progress on the airfields with
Walter Nash
Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...
, 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
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
when the Pacific War began in 1941, as USAAF Nandi . Early in the war,
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
es were flown from Nadi against Japanese targets in the Philippines and Solomon Islands. In 1943, the
42d Bombardment Group flew
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
s from Nadi. During this period, the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
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
The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA; Māori: ''Te Mana Rererangi Tūmatanui o Aotearoa'') is the government agency tasked with establishing civil aviation safety and security standards in New Zealand.
The CAA also monitors adherence ...
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; by .
![Douglas DC-8-63 CF-CPP CPAir Fiji 26](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Douglas_DC-8-63_CF-CPP_CPAir_Fiji_26.01.71_edited-3.jpg)
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
Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the northwestern shore of the Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of th ...
which could only take turboprop and piston aeroplanes, onto the new
DC-8s and
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
s bound for
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. At one time, New Zealand controlled the world's largest
Flight Information Service
A flight information service (FIS) is a form of air traffic service which is available to any aircraft within a flight information region (FIR), as agreed internationally by ICAO.
It is defined as information pertinent to the safe and efficient c ...
(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
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Dr
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra (22 September 1934 – 3 November 1989) was a Fijian medical doctor who founded the Fiji Labour Party and served as the Prime Minister of Fiji for one month in 1987.
He was born in Viseisei, Viti Levu, and was medical doc ...
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
Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda 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.
In 1999, Fiji Airports Limited was established by an act of
Fiji's Parliament as a state-owned enterprise. Its role is to operate and administer airports in Fiji, including Nadi International.
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 and
EC Harris
EC Harris is an international built asset consultancy firm headquartered in the United Kingdom. It is a key part of Arcadis NV, following the companies' merger in October 2011.
History
Founded in 1911 by Edward Charles Harris, EC Harris began a ...
were engaged as asset management consultants. These projects were completed in April 2017, and officially unveiled in June 2018.
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.
Operations
![Aerial view of Nadi Airport from southwest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Aerial_view_of_Nadi_Airport_from_southwest.jpg)
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 for
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
s, is to the left of the threshold of Runway 02, in case meteorological factors make departure to the north necessary.
In 2008, a
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
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.
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
The Mamanuca Islands () of Fiji are a volcanic archipelago lying to the west of Nadi and to the south of the Yasawa Islands. The group, a popular tourist destination, consists of about 20 islands, but about seven of these are covered by the ...
and Denarau Island cemented Nadi as the centre of Fiji's tourism industry.
Nadi is the operational base for
Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...
, 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
Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...
has its head office in the Fiji Airways Maintenance & Administration Centre at the airport. In addition, Fiji Airlines Limited, operating as
Fiji Link
Fiji Link is the trade name for Fiji Airlines Limited, which is a Fijian domestic airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of the international carrier Fiji Airways. It is headquartered at the Fiji Link office in the Civil Aviation Authority of Fij ...
, is headquartered at the Pacific Sun office at the CAAFI compound. Additionally the
Fiji Meteorological Service
The Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is a Department of the government of Fiji responsible for providing weather forecasts and is based on the grounds of Nadi Airport in Nadi. The current director of Fiji Meteorological Service is Misaeli Funaki. ...
has its headquarters on the airport property.
Airlines and destinations
Incidents and accidents
*19 May 1987 - whilst on the tarmac refueling,
Air New Zealand Flight 24 was hijacked. After boarding the aircraft with explosives, the hijacker demanded the release of deposed Prime Minister
Timoci Bavadra
Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra (22 September 1934 – 3 November 1989) was a Fijian medical doctor who founded the Fiji Labour Party and served as the Prime Minister of Fiji for one month in 1987.
He was born in Viseisei, Viti Levu, and was medical doc ...
and 27 ministers from house arrest. Eventually, the flight crew managed to overpower the hijacker, with no injuries or deaths reported.
See also
*
USAAF in the South Pacific
References
Sources
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
*
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the Pacific Ocean Theater
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II
Airports in Fiji
Airports established in 1939
1939 establishments in Oceania