Tontouta Airfield

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Tontouta International Airport
Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/public
OperatorNew Caledonia Chamber of Commerce & Industry
ServesNouméa
LocationPaïta, New Caledonia, France
Hub forAircalin
Elevation AMSL52 ft / 16 m
Coordinates22°00′59″S 166°12′58″E / 22.01639°S 166.21611°E / -22.01639; 166.21611
Websitewww.aeroports.cci.nc/en/tontouta/
Map
NOU/NWWW is located in New Caledonia
NOU/NWWW
NOU/NWWW
Location of airport in Païta, New Caledonia
Show map of New Caledonia
NOU/NWWW is located in Oceania
NOU/NWWW
NOU/NWWW
NOU/NWWW (Oceania)
Show map of Oceania
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 3,250 10,663 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers359,419
Passenger traffic changeDecrease 27%
Aircraft movements3,176
Aircraft movements changeDecrease 9.7%
Source: Aeroport.fr[1]

La Tontouta International Airport, also known as Nouméa – La Tontouta International Airport (French: Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta; IATA: NOU, ICAO: NWWW), is the main international airport in New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, as well as the military base (Base aérienne 186 Nouméa) for the French Air Force based in New Caledonia.

The airport is located in the municipality of Païta, approximately 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Nouméa. La Tontouta International Airport serves international flights, while Nouméa Magenta Airport, within the city of Nouméa, serves domestic flights. The airport is regularly served by four airlines, including Aircalin, which is based at the airport. In 2017, 529,349 passengers used the airport.[2]

History

World War II

Tontouta Air Base was originally constructed by the United States Navy's Seabees. THe base played a role during the Pacific War of the Second World War. The base had two runways numbered 3/21 and 11/29. The base reverted to French control after the war and today's remaining runway is aligned on 11/29.[3]

United States Army Air Forces units based here included:

Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress of the 11th Bomb Group, 43d Bomb Squadron at Tontouta in August 1942

United States Marine Corps units based here included:

Terminal expansion

An Air France Boeing 747-400 at La Tontouta Airport in February 2000
An Air Calin Airbus A330-200 at the airport in July 2011, with the terminal redevelopment underway in the background
A garden on the ground floor of the terminal

A major expansion of the airport's terminal was completed in 2012 after several years of work. The project resulted in a significant increase in the terminal's size and included a new arrivals area, a larger check-in area and the installation of two jetbridges.[4] The terminal now has five stands capable of handling commercial jet aircraft, two of which are served by the new airbridges and three of which utilise stairs to access the aircraft. In addition, the airport has several more stands designed to handle smaller aircraft.

2024 New Caledonia unrest

In response to the 2024 New Caledonia unrest, Nouméa's international airport was closed until 21 May 2024. Due to the airport's closure, Air New Zealand cancelled its flights to Nouméa scheduled for 18 and 20 May.[5]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights in Nouméa:

AirlinesDestinations
Air Calédonie Île-des-Pins,[6] Lifou,[6] Maré,[6] Ouvéa, Port Vila[6]
Air New Zealand Auckland[7]
Aircalin Auckland,[8] Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[9] Brisbane,[10] Nadi,[11] Papeete,[11] Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[9] Port Vila,[12] Singapore,[11] Sydney,[11] Wallis Island[13]
Fiji Airways Nadi (resumes 22 September 2026)[14]
Qantas Sydney[15]
QantasLinkBrisbane[16]

Statistics

PassengersYear0100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,0001970198019902000201020202030PassengersAnnual passenger traffic
Nouméa - La Tontouta[17]
Year Passengers Freight (tonnes) Commercial aircraft
movements
2000359,8395,2443,111
2001348,0255,0613,118
2002359,2935,0943,349
2003371,2475,1973,128
2004388,3085,2003,330
2005409,0965,5663,254
2006415,8135,4513,290
2007445,3055,6063,440
2008457,3876,2203,661
2009462,6985,8093,730
2010479,8036,2213,797
2011492,8306,2993,787
2012486,1715,6323,814
2013476,1744,9533,701
2014479,8434,8703,822
2015497,7184,8113,891
2016515,1664,4074,052
2017529,3494,2773,749
2018538,7914,0493,746
2019569,9014,0893,989
2020166,1983,2801,509
202153,6083,646906
2022320,3334,0242,261
2023492,6403,1923,517
2024359,4192,8403,176

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. "Résultats d'activité des aéroports français 2018" (PDF). aeroport.fr. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  2. "Annual statistics". Archived from the original on 2006-11-25.
  3. Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT, William M. Armstrong, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 2017, p.25
  4. "Airport Development (Australasia) - No. 911" (PDF). Momberger Airport Information. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  5. "New Caledonia's Nouméa airport is closed until Tuesday, Air New Zealand says". RNZ. 17 May 2024. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  6. Salcedo, Dirk Andrei (2 February 2026). "Air Calédonie faces call to delay hub move". Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  7. "Air New Zealand to resume Auckland-Nouméa flights from November". RNZ. 23 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  8. Sipinski, Dominik (13 December 2024). "New Caledonia's Aircalin orders two A350-900s". ch-aviation. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  9. "Aircalin va desservir Paris via Bangkok, une opportunité aussi pour les Polynésiens". Francetvinfo (in French). 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  10. Curran, Andrew (5 December 2025). "Aircalin to increase Australia flights from early 2Q25". Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  11. "Aircalin Launches New Route: Bridging New Caledonia, Fiji, and French Polynesia". Pacific Tourism Organisation. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  12. "Opening of the Noumea-Port Vila line operated by Air Calédonie, in code share with Aircalin". Pacific Tourism Organisation. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  13. Duclos, François (23 February 2018). "Aircalin continue entre Wallis et Futuna | Air Journal". Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  14. https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/fiji-airways-to-resume-direct-nadi-noumea-flights-from-september/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. Dingwall, Doug (29 June 2024). "Riot-stricken New Caledonia is empty of travellers. Businesses hope it can regain its place as a Pacific tourism jewel". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  16. Nelson, Jake (17 October 2024). "QantasLink A220s to go international next year". Australian Aviation. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  17. "Statistiques annuelles: Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta". Union des Aéroports Français. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2018.

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