Fa'a'ā International Airport

Fa'a'ā International Airport (French: Aéroport international de Tahiti Fa'a'ā) (IATA: PPT, ICAO: NTAA) is in the commune (municipality) of Fa'a'ā, on the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, 5 km (3.1 mi) west southwest from the town center of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. Tahiti is in the northwestern part of French Polynesia, and this is the only international airport in the overseas collectivity of the French Republic. It opened in 1960.

Air Tahiti and Air Tahiti Nui have their head offices at the airport.

Overview

Fa'a'ā International Airport is relatively small. Air Tahiti has flights every day going to all the other islands in French Polynesia while international flights go to countries such as France, Japan, the United States, or New Zealand. The airport is on Tahiti which is an island among the Windward Islands: the eastern part of the Society Islands. Mo'orea can be seen across the Pacific Ocean and Mount Tohive'a is a major mountain on Mo'orea. Because of limited level terrain, rather than leveling large stretches of sloping agricultural land, the airport is built primarily on reclaimed land on the coral reef just off-shore.

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):

Papeete (schooner)

The Papeete was a schooner built in 1891 by Matthew Turner, a San Francisco Bay Area shipbuilder who had extensive business interests in Tahiti. The ship was known for a fast passage from San Francisco to Tahiti of 17 days.

She was built to serve in the packet trade, as was the similarly named barquentine City of Papeete.

Schooner Papeete was still afloat in 1929.

References