Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Bora Bora Airport (NTTB), also known as Motu Mute Airport, sits on its own islet within Bora Bora's lagoon in French Polynesia, reachable only by boat transfer to the main island. A single lit hard runway, opened in 1943 and rebuilt for commercial service in 1958, still handles Air Tahiti turboprops and occasional business jets today, making it a distinctive and scenic destination for the simulator pilot.
Bora Bora Airport, known locally as Motu Mute Airport, serves the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia from its own islet, or motu, set within the surrounding lagoon. It has no scheduled jet service but is used by Air Tahiti and Air Moana turboprops on inter-island routes, and occasionally by larger business jets such as the Bombardier Global Express, Gulfstream V and Dassault Falcon 900. For a sim pilot the appeal lies in its striking lagoon setting and the fact that it is physically separated from the community it serves, with all passengers making a boat crossing to reach Bora Bora itself.
The airport lies on the islet of Motu Mute, on the northern rim of the reef and lagoon that encircles Bora Bora, some distance across the water from Vaitape, the island's main population centre. The field is remote even by French Polynesian standards, with its 125 hectares occupying almost the whole of the small motu on which it stands.
The airport has a single physical runway, 11/29, 4,895 feet long with a hard surface and runway lighting. There is no ILS approach.
Air traffic services are provided by TWR on 118.9 MHz, with approach control available from TAHITI on 134.7 MHz.
The airport occupies the whole of the small islet of Motu Mute, making the runway and its surrounding lagoon easy to identify from the air; the main village of Vaitape, across the water on Bora Bora itself, and the wider ring of motu and reef around the lagoon are the principal visual landmarks for pilots approaching the field.
The airfield was opened in 1943 during the Second World War. Commercial passenger service began in 1958 once the runway had been reconstructed. In the years before Faa'a International Airport opened at Papeete in 1960, Bora Bora was served directly by the French carrier Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux (TAI), which operated Douglas DC-7C propliners on routes to Los Angeles via Honolulu and to Nouméa via Nadi. After Papeete opened, TAI shifted its long-haul services there, with connections to Bora Bora flown by the regional carrier Reseau Aerien Interinsulaire (RAI) using Douglas DC-4s and Short Sandringham flying boats through the early 1960s. RAI became Air Polynésie, which flew DC-4s into the 1970s before introducing Fokker F27 turboprops and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. Air Polynésie was renamed Air Tahiti in 1986 and continues to serve the airport with ATR 42 and ATR 72 turboprops.
Bora Bora Airport remains accessible only by sea from the surrounding islands, with Air Tahiti and Air Moana both operating boat shuttles between the airport and Vaitape for their passengers, in addition to their scheduled inter-island flights to destinations including Raiatea, Huahine, Maupiti, Moorea, Rangiroa, Fakarava, Tikehau and Tahiti. Refuelling is possible on the island but only in limited quantity and by prior request, so pilots should plan fuel requirements ahead of arrival. Business aviation operators are also active at the field, supporting ad hoc and charter movements alongside the scheduled turboprop traffic.