Totegegie Airport is an airport on Totegegie Island in the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

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 ...

. It is 9 km northeast of the village of

Rikitea Rikitea is a small town on Mangareva, which is part of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. A majority of the islanders live in Rikitea. The island was a protectorate of France in 1871 and was annexed in 1881. History The town's history date ...

. Totegegie is one of

Mangareva Mangareva is the central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. It is surrounded by smaller islands: Taravai in the southwest, Aukena and Akamaru in the southeast, and islands in the north. Mangareva has a permanent pop ...

island's

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s, approximately from

, the island's administrative settlement. It has the only building on the reef. The airport is from

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 ...

and is classified as a territorial aerodrome. Its only commercial service is to

Fa'a'ā International Airport Faa'a International Airport (french: Aéroport international de Tahiti-Faaa), also known as Tahiti International Airport , is the international airport of French Polynesia, located in the commune of Faaa, on the island of Tahiti. It is situated ...

on Tuesdays. Totegegie Airport is crucial in its role as the outside world's link to

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...

. One of the few ways a traveler can reach Pitcairn is to fly to

, then to Totegegie. From there, a 32-hour boat ride will take one to Pitcairn.

History

The runway was constructed in 1967 by the 115th running of the Society of the Pacific Experimentation Centre Pacific (CEP). The first aircraft, a

Piper Aztec The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...

, landed in 1968. The same year, a DC-6 performed weekly service between Totegegie,

Mururoa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...

and

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

. In 1978, the first commercial air link was established between Totegegie and Papeete. The French army buildings were decommissioned in 1998. At the end of operations 50 tons of scrap metal had been collected. In 2008, the terminal was expanded and modernized.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Ground transportation

The airport is connected to

and its city

by boat. From

there are boats going to

, the main way of getting there.

Passengers

References

Airports in French Polynesia Gambier Islands Airports established in 1967 1967 establishments in French Polynesia {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub