Funafuti International Airport
| Funafuti International Airport | |||||||||||
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A Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules aircraft landing at Funafuti International Airport
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Location | Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 9 ft / 3 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 08°31′30″S 179°11′47″E / 8.52500°S 179.19639°ECoordinates: 08°31′30″S 179°11′47″E / 8.52500°S 179.19639°E | ||||||||||
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Funafuti International Airport (IATA: FUN, ICAO: NGFU) is an airport in Funafuti, in the capital city of the island nation of Tuvalu. Fiji Airways (trading as Fiji Link) operates three flights a week between Suva (originating from Nadi) and Funafuti with ATR 72-600 aircraft that have a capacity of 68 passengers and cargo.
Funafuti Airport was built by a detachment of the 2nd Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees) of the United States Navy in 1943 during World War II.
The military airfield included an airstrip, control tower and facilities, with a radio station at Tepuka, connected by cable to the airfield. The base headquarters buildings were at the present-day Teagai Apelu's residence, and a bunker is there to this day.
The first offensive operation was launched on 20 April 1943 when 22 B-24 Liberator aircraft from 371 and 372 Bombardment Squadrons bombed Nauru. The next day the Japanese made a predawn raid on the strip at Funafuti that destroyed one B-24 and caused damage to five other planes. On 22 April, 12 B-24 aircraft bombed Tarawa. Marine Fighting Squadron 441 (VMF-441), flying the F4F Wildcat, operated from Funafuti from May to September 1943.
The airfield became the headquarters of the United States Army Air Forces VII Bomber Command in November 1943, which directed operations against Japanese forces on Tarawa and other bases in the Gilbert Islands. The USAAF stationed two B-24 Liberator heavy bomber groups, the 11th Wing and 30th Bombardment Groups on Funafuti in the implementation of Operation Galvanic, which led to the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle of Makin in November 1943.
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