Moorea Airport (french: Aéroport de Moorea) is an airport serving the island of

Moorea Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning " ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is also known as Temae Airport or Moorea Temae Airport for its location near the village of Temae in northeastern Moorea. The airport is located northeast of Afareitu, the island's main village. It is also west of the island of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. The airport opened on October 6, 1967.

History

* 27 March 1967: Construction of the runway at Moorea‑Temae. * 6 October 1967: Opening of the Temae airfield. * 1977: The Moorea-Temae aerodrome is transferred to the SETIL - ''Société d'Équipement de Tahiti et des Iles'' (Equipment Company of Tahiti and the Islands). * 1982: Construction of the existing terminal and adding additional parking spaces. * 1987: Lengthening the runway to accommodate

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

. * 1990: Construction of a new control tower. * 2003: Work and upgrading to accommodate ATR 72.

Facilities

The airport resides at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated 12/30 with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

surface measuring .

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Ground Transportation

The Moorea Tour Bus comes to the airport to pick up or drop off people. The bus is yellow and green.

Accidents and Incidents

* On August 9, 2007,

Air Moorea Flight 1121 Air Moorea Flight 1121 was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter which crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Moorea Airport on Moorea Island in French Polynesia on 9 August 2007, killing all 20 people on board. It was bound ...

crashed shortly after taking off from Temae Airport. The

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

was bound for

's Faa'a International Airport. The report found that the crash was caused by the failure of the pitch control cables following the retraction of the flaps after take-off, which causes significant torque on that aircraft and thus additional pressure on the cables. The failure was caused by significant wear due to the lack of special maintenance and inspections for the stainless-steel cables (which are more subject to wear than their carbon steel counterparts), and exacerbated by the jet-blast of an A340 while the aircraft was parked. Another contributory cause for the crash were found to be the lack of pilot training for loss of pitch control. All 19 passengers and the sole crew member died. Amongst those 19 passengers were two

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

officials.

Annual statistics

Annual statistics for Moorea Airport:

References

External links

* {{authority control Airports in French Polynesia Mo'orea