A new $167m development will see Tonga create its largest international airport, allowing Australian travellers to fly
direct to Tonga’s main tourism hub, Vava’u, for the first time as well as expanding trade access for a wider range of goods and services. Australia is Tonga’s second largest tourism market, making up a fifth (19%) of visitor numbers.
The new airport will also be one of the world’s first to be designed to meet the needs of a post-COVID tourism market and is considered a key component of the strategy in the regeneration and development of higher quality tourism for the Pacific Island nation.
Vava’u International Airport’s existing building will be replaced with a proposed new 8,000sqm terminal and cargo facility, along with an extended runway capable of accommodating long-range aircraft. Vava’u is Tonga’s main tourism hub, with 34 islands in the group providing dramatic scenery and a world-renowned centre for water-related activities, however, the current length of the runway prevents access from larger aircraft– restricting international flights from a number of countries to neighbouring Pacific Islands of Fiji and Samoa.
The new 2,700m extended runway will provide direct access from higher value destinations including Australia, New Zealand, USA, UAE and key Asian markets such as Japan and China.
A multi-megawatt renewable energy plant to be built as part of the development will harness solar and wind to power the airport as well as contribute to Vava’u’s resident population of over 13,700 – reducing emissions and working towards eliminating the need for imported diesel, which supplies 90% of power to the island.
