Lifuka Island Airport
Lifuka Island Airport Salote Pilolevu Airport | |||||||||||
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AMSL 29 ft / 9 m | | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 19°46′36″S 174°20′28″W / 19.77667°S 174.34111°W | ||||||||||
Website | www.tongaairports.com | ||||||||||
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Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: Skybrary[1] |
Lifuka Island Airport (IATA: HPA, ICAO: NFTL), also known as Salote Pilolevu Airport or Haʻapai Airport, is an airport on Lifuka in Tonga. The airport is located 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the capital Panga, and is only served domestically, roughly 40 minutes by flight to Tongatapu and 30 minutes to Vava'u. Taxis serve the airport, and services include a cafe inside the terminal.[2]
One of the airport's most unique features is the dirt road intersecting the runway. The road is the only path connecting Lifuka and Foa islands. Gates staffed by airport employees are used to prevent vehicle access during aircraft operations; the rest of the airport is otherwise secured with barbed wire fencing.
There is no aviation fuel or refueling service for aircraft available at the airport.[3]
History
Following the collapse of Royal Tongan Airlines,
Peau Vava'u operated flights to Ha'apai with leased
Air Fiji formed Airlines Tonga in December 2005 as a joint venture with Tongan travel agency Teta Tours. The airline was created to provide domestic services to Tonga, Ha'apai among the destinations.
Air Fiji chartered New Zealand operator Air Chathams to fly services in July 2006 for Airlines Tonga with Convair CV-580 aircraft for about a month.[7]
In 2006, Peau Vava'u cut all flights after damage to its office in November. The airline never resumed flights.[5] This made Airlines Tonga the only domestic carrier in Tonga until its collapse in August 2008.
On 14 April 2008,
Ha'apai flights were once again provided by Convair CV-580s, but also a
With the announcement of Chinese funding for a new airline to compete with Chathams Pacific in early 2012, CEO Craig Emeny announced a withdrawal of flights from 2 March 2013.[7]
Real Tonga supposedly would commence operation with two leased Harbin Y-12s on 4 March,[8] however due to delays in aircraft arrivals, Air Chathams was chartered to fly services for the week following the end of operations.[7]
Real Tonga would later receive a their own Y-12 and a
In May 2016 Real Tonga commenced Saab 340 operations to Ha'apai.[11]
The airport's deteriorating runway surface has been reported as the cause of multiple incidents of foreign object debris damages to aircraft operating to the airfield in 2015.[9]
Airlines and Destinations
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Lulutai Airlines | Nuku'alofa |
Gallery
References
- ^ "Lifuka Island Airport". Skybrary. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Pilolevu Airport - Ha'apai". Tonga Airports Limited. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Environmental Management Plan for Tonga Aviation Infrastructure Investment Project (TAIIP)". Tonga Airports Limited/Ministry of Public Enterprises: 8–9 – via Worldbank.
- ^ "Royal Tongan Airlines". 2 February 2001. Archived from the original on 2 February 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Oceanic Voyages: Aviation in the Pacific" (PDF). Pacific Study Series: 124–126. 2007 – via Asian Development Bank.
- ^ "Peau Vava'u - Travel with Tonga's Domestic Airline to Tongatapu, Ha'apai and Vava'u". 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ a b c L, Steve (14 April 2013). "3rd Level New Zealand: Air Chathams' South Pacific Operations". 3rd Level New Zealand. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Tonga Businesses Worried Over Local Air Services - January 25, 2013". 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ a b L, Steve (8 May 2015). "3rd Level New Zealand: I bet Craig is glad he dropped Tonga". 3rd Level New Zealand. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Tongan gov't to resume MA-60 ops in 1H20". ch-aviation. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ L, Steve (26 April 2016). "3rd Level New Zealand: Saab for Real Tonga". 3rd Level New Zealand. Retrieved 21 March 2020.