Fagaliʻi or Fagaliʻi-uta is a village on the island of Upolu in the Samoa archipelago approximately 5 kilometres south-east of Apia. It is in the electoral constituency of Vaimauga East (faipule district) which forms part of the larger political district of Tuamasaga.

The population of Fagaliʻi is 1439.[1]

Fagaliʻi International Airport and the Royal Samoa Golf Course are both located nearby in Fagaliʻi Uta.

Airport

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Fagaliʻi Airport
 
Summary
Airport typePrivate
OwnerPolynesian Airlines
OperatorPolynesian Airlines
ServesApia
LocationFagaliʻi-Uta
Coordinates13°50′54″S 171°44′30″W / 13.84833°S 171.74167°W / -13.84833; -171.74167
 
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 670 2,198 Asphalt
 
Royal Samoa Golf Course and Fagaliʻi Airport.

Fagaliʻi Airport is owned and operated by Polynesian Airlines. Fagaliʻi airstrip - at one time a grass-only airstrip, was reopened on 6 July 2002 after the airstrip was re-sealed,[2] only to be de-commissioned in January 2005 due to Government and village concerns, allegedly due to safety and noise.

On 1 July 2009, Polynesian Airlines reopened Fagaliʻi airport and resumed a service that included international flights to Pago Pago, American Samoa.[3]

The proposal to re-open the airport was controversial and attracted criticism both for the safety and environmental issues with the airport's configuration and for the potential burden on local communities should the scheme fail.[4]

Airlines that have operated from the airport include:

Current operations

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Since re-opening Fagaliʻi, Polynesian Airlines has acquired a third DHC-6 Twin Otter to better serve the Samoas in light of the cessation of services of Inter-Island Airways which operated a Pago-Pago based service to Faleolo, Samoa and the Manuʻa islands to the East of Tutuila. Samoa Airways now services the American Samoan routes with multiple weekly services to Taʻu (Fitiuta) and once weekly services to Ofu-Olosega Islands.[5]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Samoa Airways Pago Pago[5]
Talofa Airways Pago Pago

References

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  1. ^ "Census 2016 Preliminary count" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. p. 7. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. ^ Polynesian Whispers 2002
  3. ^ Sagapolutele, Fili. "Polynesian to resume flying into Fagaliʻi airport this week". Samoa News. SamoaNews.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  4. ^ Samoa Observer Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine 23 November 2008
  5. ^ a b "Polynesian Airlines Current Schedule" (PDF). Retrieved December 23, 2015.