Air Tahiti

Air Tahiti is a French airline company which operates in French Polynesia. Despite its private company status, it has a public service mission. Its principal base is Faaa International Airport.

Air Tahiti Company

Its activities

The primary purpose of Air Tahiti is scheduled air transportation between the islands of French Polynesia. However, the company provides other related activities in the field of aviation.

Domestic air transportation

From Tahiti, Air Tahiti operates 46 islands of French Polynesia, connecting more than 90 percent of the population. The company provides administrative, school and medical exchanges between Tahiti and her islands, contributing to the development of the Territory.

Charter flights

To meet specific and selective requests, Air Tahiti charters its aircraft for the transport of clients and/or goods. For the latter, some ATRs can be converted into freighters. The cabin is reconfigured and the seats removed to allow the loading of freight. Thus, Air Tahiti is regularly chartered to transport oysters (from abroad to the islands) or agricultural products (flowers, potatoes, fruit).

French Polynesia

French Polynesia (ⁱ/ˈfrɛntʃ pɒlᵻˈniːʒə/; French: Polynésie française [pɔlinezi fʁɑ̃sɛz]; Tahitian: Pōrīnetia Farāni) is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic; collectivité d'outre-mer de la République française (COM), sometimes unofficially referred to as an overseas country; pays d'outre-mer (POM). It is composed of 118 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over an expanse of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean. Its total land area is 4,167 square kilometres (1,609 sq mi).

French Polynesia is divided into 5 groups of islands: The Society Islands archipelago composed of the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Gambier Islands, the Marquesas Islands and the Austral Islands. Among its 118 islands and atolls, 67 are inhabited. Tahiti, which is located within the Society Islands, is the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the collectivity, Pape'ete. It has more than 68% of the population of the islands in 2012. Although not an integral part of its territory, Clipperton Island was administered from French Polynesia until 2007.

International airport

An international airport is an airport that offers customs and immigration facilities for passengers travelling between countries. International airports are typically larger than domestic airports and often feature longer runways and facilities to accommodate the heavier aircraft commonly used for international and intercontinental travel. International airports often also host domestic flights. Some, such as Frankfurt Airport in Germany are very large; others such as Fa'a'ā International Airport in Tahiti, are quite small.

Buildings, operations and management have become increasingly sophisticated since the mid 20th century, when international airports began to provide infrastructure for international civilian flights. Detailed technical standards have been developed to ensure safety and common coding systems implemented to provide global consistency. The physical structures that serve millions of individual passengers and flights are among the most complex and interconnected in the world. By the second decade of the 21st century, there were over 1,200 international airports and almost two billion international passengers along with 50 million metric tonnes of cargo were passing through them annually.

Tahiti

Tahiti (/təˈhiːti/; French pronunciation: ​[taˌiti]) is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia; this overseas collectivity of the French Republic is sometimes referred to as an overseas country. The island is located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the central Southern Pacific Ocean, and is divided into two parts: The bigger, northwestern part Tahiti Nui and the smaller, southeastern part Tahiti Iti. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. The population is 183,645 inhabitants (2012 census), making it the most populous island of French Polynesia and accounting for 68.5% of its total population.

Tahiti is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The capital of the collectivity, Pape'ete, is located on the northwest coast with the only international airport in the region, Fa'a'ā International Airport, situated 5 km (3.1 mi) from the town centre.

Tahiti was originally settled by Polynesians between 300 and 800 CE. They represent about 70% of the island's population with the rest made up of Europeans, Chinese and those of mixed heritage.

Papeete

Papeete (pronounced [pa.pe.ʔe.te]) is the capital of French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune (municipality) of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeete is the administrative capital. The French High Commissioner also resides in Papeete. It is the primary center of Tahitian and French Polynesian public and private governmental, commercial, industrial and financial services, the hub of French Polynesian tourism and a commonly used port of call. The Windward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands. The name Papeete means "water from a basket".

The urban area of Papeete had a total population of 133,627 inhabitants at the August 2012 census, 25,769 of whom lived in the commune of Papeete proper.

Geography

The commune of Papeete is subdivided into eleven quartiers (wards):