Faleolo International Airport (IATA: APW, ICAO: NSFA) is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa.
Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737. Services to the United States, Australia, or New Zealand, could only land at Pago Pago International AirportinAmerican Samoa. Since the airport's expansion, most international traffic now uses Faleolo.
Until 31 December 2019, small turboprop aircraft used to connect American Samoa and Samoa from Fagali'i Airport in the eastern suburbs of Apia. With the closure of Fagali’i Airport, all aircraft now use Faleolo.
In 1942 the New Zealand colonial administration took land from the village of Satuimalufilufi for defence purposes, forcing it to relocate.[2]United States NavySeaBees of 1st Construction Battalion subsequently constructed an airfield and Naval Base Upolu. It became an auxiliary field of U.S. Naval Station Tutuila in the Samoa Defense Group Area[3] during the Pacific War. Faleolo Airfield was completed by the Seabees in July 1942[4] and U.S. Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-111 was moved from Tafuna Airfield to Faleolo Airfield[4] after the aircraft runway was completed to protect the islands of Upolu and Savai'i from an anticipated Japanese invasion.[5] The original runway was 4,000 feet (1,219 m) x 200 feet (61 m) and was extended to 6,000 feet (1,829 m) x 350 feet (107 m) in March 1943 to accommodate a taxiway and space for basing of up to 57 fighter aircraft. Airfield support buildings and two hangars were also constructed and completed in March 1943.
After the war the airport was used for flying boats as part of the coral route,[6] but the airstrip itself was little-used.[7] It was upgraded in 1957 to allow the change-over from seaplanes to land-based aircraft.[8] Heavy rain and flooding in 1967 eroded the airstrip and forced it to be closed for three days.[9] The Samoan government subsequently sought a loan from New Zealand and the Asian Development Bank to upgrade it to take heavier aircraft.[10] The upgrade was completed in April 1972, giving a 5,500 feet (1,700 m) sealed runway.[11] The extended airport was capable of handling jets up to the size of a Boeing 737, enabling direct flights to New Zealand.[12] Desire for increased tourism saw it upgraded again over 1984-1985 to enable large jets.[13] It was further upgraded in 2000.[14]
While the land was taken for defence purposes during wartime, it was not returned when the war ended, and was later transferred to the Western Samoa Trust Estates Corporation.[2] This has been contested since Samoan independence in 1962, resulting in ongoing protests and legal action. In 1985, villagers occupied some of the land, resulting in prosecution for trespass.[2] In 1998 villagers slaughtered government cattle and fired on police as part of a dispute over ownership.[15] In 2012, the 50th anniversary of independence, they petitioned for its return,[16][17] stopped survey work,[18] and blocked the road to the airport.[19] In 2018 the Samoan government forcibly relocated families to allow for a further extension to the airport to be constructed.[20]
Faleolo Tower has some jurisdiction over the airspace of American Samoa and Tonga as well as its own airspace. It is assisted by the tower at Nadi, Fiji and the whole area is under Oceanic Control from Auckland, New Zealand.[22]
On 14 September 1994, a Polynesian AirlinesBoeing 737-300, from Fuaʻamotu International AirportinTonga could not extend its undercarriage because of the body of a male stowaway which was jammed in the wheel well. The flight made an emergency landing at Faleolo using only the nosewheel and port undercarriage with minimal damage to the aircraft.[30][31] Eye witness and author Ruperake Petaia wrote The Miracle (1996, 2013)[32] based on a number of passenger accounts of the event.
In 2000, Air New Zealand flight NZ60 nearly overshot the runway due to a faulty instrument landing system, which had been accidentally damaged by a digger. The pilots took a number of measures to successfully prevent an accident, which were incorporated into a training video. Key points from the video that averted disaster included the pilots' unease about the ILS glideslope capture, the conflict between the aircraft's altitude and the functioning Distance Measuring Equipment, and their familiarity with the approach into Faleolo which caused them to realise they were not where they were supposed to be, had the ILS been functioning correctly. For these reasons they initiated a go around, and used the VOR/DME equipment for the second and successful approach.[33]
^"A PLANE'S EMERGENCY LANDING IN SAMOA". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXVI, no. 9. 1 April 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 22 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Longer runway planned for Faleolo". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 56, no. 5. 1 May 1985. p. 33. Retrieved 22 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SAMOAN AIR DISASTER Cause Still Unknown". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXI, no. 6. 1 January 1951. p. 28. Retrieved 22 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"W.Samoa haunts Tonga over dead stowaway". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 64, no. 12. 1 December 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 5 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^Petaia, Ruperake (2013). The Miracle. Ruperake Petaia. ISBN9781301251636.
