Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Raiatea Airport (NTTR/RFP) serves Uturoa, the main town on the island of Raiatea in the Leeward Society Islands of French Polynesia, and acts as the principal air link for both Raiatea and the neighbouring island of Tahaa. It offers a single lit hard-surface runway and is served by scheduled Air Tahiti and Air Moana flights to Papeete, Bora Bora, Huahine, Maupiti and Moorea, making it a useful and scenic VFR waypoint for pilots exploring the Society Islands.
Raiatea Airport, also known historically as Uturoa Airport, sits on reclaimed land on the northern coast of Raiatea island in French Polynesia. It is a public airport built specifically to serve the island's main town, Uturoa, and provides the principal air gateway for both Raiatea and the adjacent island of Tahaa. For a simulator pilot, its single coastal runway, lagoon approaches and status as a hub for onward island-hopping flights to Bora Bora, Huahine, Maupiti and Moorea make it an engaging destination in the South Pacific.
The airfield lies on the north side of Raiatea, close to Uturoa, the island's capital, and about 2.4 kilometres northwest of the town centre. Air traffic in the area is worked by Tahiti area control on an approach frequency, with a tower frequency covering the aerodrome itself. Raiatea sits among the Leeward Society Islands, within reach of Tahaa immediately to the north and Bora Bora and Huahine further afield, all served by short inter-island flights from the field.
The airport has a single physical runway, 07/25, 4584 feet long with a hard surface and runway lighting. There is no ILS.
Approach services are provided on 134.7 MHz by Tahiti Control (TAHITI CON), with the aerodrome tower operating on 118.5 MHz. No instrument landing system is available at the field.
The airfield is readily identified by its position on reclaimed land on the northern shore of Raiatea, immediately adjacent to the town of Uturoa, with the lagoon and the neighbouring island of Tahaa providing clear visual references during arrival.
Raiatea Airport was inaugurated in 1962 but did not enter service until 1964. Because no suitable site could be found along the natural coastline, the runway was built on land reclaimed by backfilling on the northern part of the island. In an earlier era, on 19 February 1958, a Consolidated Catalina IIA flying boat of Reseau Aerien Interinsulaire, inbound from Papeete, struck the water with a wingtip float during a shallow turn on final approach and sank in 36 metres of water within ten minutes; 15 of the 26 occupants died, the accident being attributed to poor weather conditions and standing at the time as French Polynesia's deadliest until 1973.
The airport remains the principal air link for Raiatea and Tahaa, handling scheduled domestic services operated by Air Tahiti to destinations including Bora Bora, Huahine, Maupiti, Moorea and Papeete, alongside newer services from Air Moana. The site occupies a modest land area with a passenger terminal, a maintenance hangar and limited vehicle parking, reflecting its role as a regional rather than international airport.