New runway on Tetiaroa
Pacific Beachcomber SC (PBSC), the developer of Tetiaroa, has announced that the newly constructed runway on the motu (islet) of Onetahi is now operational. The private airstrip is paved with asphalt mixed with coral and measures 778 meters (2552 feet), approximately 30% longer than the previous runway here. The new runway required an 18-degree rotation in order to accommodate the increased length.
The earlier runway, which accommodated air traffic when film actor Marlon Brando resided on Tetiaroa, was closed in 2004 by French Polynesian aviation officials after it fell into disrepair and no longer met civil aviation standards.
The inaugural landing on the new runway took place on May 12, 2010. Richard Bailey, President of Pacific Beachcomber, landed the Gippsland GA-8 Airvan to the cheers of 30 construction workers after making the 20-minute flight from Tahiti.
Onetahi is the future site of The Brando hotel. During the next two years of construction, Pacific Beachcomber will use the runway to transport consultants, researchers, and members of the development team to the atoll. Upon the opening of The Brando hotel, which is expected in 2012, Pacific Beachcomber will begin operating Air Tetiaroa with flights between Tahiti and the private airport on Onetahi, one of the motus of Tetiaroa.
Tags: Air Tetiaroa
Hi, this is a comment.
To delete a comment, just log in and view the post's comments. There you will have the option to edit or delete them.