Pago Pago International Airport

Pago Pago International Airport ( IATA: PPG, FAA LID: PPG, ICAO: NSTU) is a public airport, also referred to as Tafuna Airport. Pago Pago International Airport located within the village and plains of Tafuna, on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States. The PPG airport is situated 7 miles southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago. The Pago Pago International airport is operated and owned by the Department of Port Administration of the American Samoa Government (ASG) The PPG airport is one of three operated by DPA, and the other three are small airports at Ofu and Fitiuta. The Pago Pago International Airport is considered as American Samoa's primary commercial service airport. PPG airport provides service to Western Samoa and Honolulu.

Pago Pago International Airport

General Information

Pago Pago International Airport ( IATA: PPG, FAA LID: PPG, ICAO: NSTU) is a public airport, also referred to as Tafuna Airport. Pago Pago International Airport located within the village and plains of Tafuna, on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States. The PPG airport is situated 7 miles southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago. The Pago Pago International airport is operated and owned by the Department of Port Administration of the American Samoa Government (ASG) The PPG airport is one of three operated by DPA, and the other three are small airports at Ofu and Fitiuta. The Pago Pago International Airport is considered as American Samoa's primary commercial service airport. PPG airport provides service to Western Samoa and Honolulu.

Capacity

Pago Pago International Airport covers 700 acres of land, and it has two runways: Runway 5-23, and Runway 8-26. The primary PPG runway is 10,000 feet long and 150 feet wide. The second Runway is 3,800 feet long and 100 feet wide. In 2014, 3,009 flights arrived at Pago Pago International airport. Incoming flights were carrying over 57, 355 passengers. Pago Pago International airport has served several airlines, including Hawaii Airlines, Inter-Island Airways, Samoa Airways, Talofa Airways.

History

The current location of Pago Pago International Airport was initially known as Tafuna Airfield.

The airfield was part of the United States Naval Station Tutuila Samoa Defense Group area. It was constructed in 1941 when war broke out in the Pacific. The airbase was completed and opened in 1942, on March 17.

Pago Pago International airport was first used for passenger service. Polynesian Airlines was the first to service from Faleolo, Pago Pago, and Western Samoa in 1959. The Runway was completed in 1962. In 1963, to promote the local economy and tourism, the first significant construction project was commenced. The Runway was opened for jet aircraft in 1964, and Pan American World Airways were offering about 707 services between Honolulu, Auckland, Sydney, and Papeete. In 1970, American Airlines also provided the same route and used Boeing 707 aircraft.

In 1970 the development continued, the terminal was expanded, added fire/rescue facilities, observation tower, and auto parking area were renovated, and in 1994, airport gift shops were constructed. In 1984 the PPG runway was lengthened and handled larger Boeing 737 aircraft.

The Runway 5-23 was also expanded in early 2001.