Tafuna Airfield The site and location of the current airport was originally known as
Tafuna Airfield. It was part of
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila - Samoa Defense Group Area and was partially constructed before war broke out in the Pacific on December 7, 1941. Two airstrips were completed and opened on March 17, 1942. The airfield was first utilized on March 19, 1942, by U.S. Marine Fighting Squadron
VMF-111 which arrived by ship from
San Diego,
California. VMF-111 aircraft were off loaded in Pago Pago harbor and trucked to Tafuna airfield. arrived in early May 1942 at Tafuna Airfield where all three squadrons were based during the early part of the Pacific War. VMF-111 was eventually transitioned and based at
Faleolo Airfield to protect Upolu and Savai'i islands. The original runway alignments were 09/27 ( x ) and 14/32 ( x ) The main terminal airfield buildings, a large hangar and control tower were located at the edge of today's runway 08/26 and at what is today the Tafuna Industrial Park area.
Leone Airfield In conjunction with the airstrip at Tafuna, an emergency Bomber airstrip was also constructed in the village of
Leone, known then as
Leone Airfield in early 1943. It was situated on what is today Leone High School and Midkiff Elementary School on the western edge of Tutuila Island. Leone Airfield was x It was also used for inter island air service between
Faleolo, Western Samoa and Pago Pago in 1959 by newly formed, Apia-based
Polynesian Airlines. Also in July 1959, Samoan Airlines (founded by Larry Coleman, brother of
Peter Tali Coleman, then Governor of American Samoa) started service to Apia with a DC-3. The service lasted until October 1960, before
Hawaiian Airlines repossessed the aircraft it leased Samoan for unpaid rent.
Tasman Empire Airways Limited, or TEAL, the predecessor to what is now
Air New Zealand, started flying to Pago Pago in 1961.
South Pacific Air Lines started service in 1962 from Honolulu, sometimes also to Papeete, until December 1963 when it turned the service over to Pan Am.
The jet age Pago Pago International Airport went through major re-construction in 1963 under the U.S. President Kennedy administration. The WW II military-era runway designated 14/32 was converted to a taxiway and ramp area, and a new runway was constructed and designated 05/23 with a paved length of and width of . The terminal buildings at the airport were dedicated on November 23, 1965. Dignitaries attending included Senator
Henry M. Jackson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs; Representative
Michael J. Kirwan, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Appropriations, Interior and Insular Affairs;
Malietoa Tanumafili II; and Prince
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, Prime Minister of
Tonga. Runway designation 09/27 which was the primary runway for commercial air service in the 1950s and early 1960s was deactivated after the newer, longer runway 05/23 was open for aircraft flights. Pago Pago International Airport was opened to jet service in 1964 to stimulate tourism and a new local economy.
Trans Pacific jet service and height of commercial aviation South Pacific jet services between Sydney (Australia), Auckland (New Zealand), Honolulu (Hawaii) and Papeete (Tahiti) were first offered by Pan American World Airways in 1964 using
Boeing 707 aircraft.
Air New Zealand, which was already flying the Auckland / Nadi / Pago Pago /
Papeete route using Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft shifted to
Douglas DC-8 aircraft in November 1965. In 1970
American Airlines began flying the Honolulu / Pago Pago / Sydney route using Boeing 707 aircraft.
UTA French Airlines began
Douglas DC-10 service in 1975 between
Noumea,
New Caledonia and Papeete, Tahiti via Pago Pago.
Continental Airlines also began DC-10 service from Honolulu to Sydney and Auckland via Pago Pago in 1979. Pago Pago International Airport went through its peak in aviation between 1975 and 1985. During this period Pan American (using
Boeing 747s), Air New Zealand (using DC-8s), UTA French Airlines (using DC-10s), Continental Airlines (using DC-10s),
Hawaiian Airlines (using a DC-8),
South Pacific Island Airways (using Boeing 707s), Samoa Air (using a Boeing 707),
Arrow Air (using a DC-8),
Air Nauru (
Boeing 737 and
Boeing 727), and
Air Pacific (using a
BAC One-Eleven) were all plying the South Pacific via Pago Pago. One could travel between Pago Pago and Honolulu for an airfare of US$99 one-way.
Cargo commercial aviation Towards the end of its peak commercial passenger aviation period, Pago Pago International Airport also became an ideal refueling stopover for cargo carriers due to the low cost of fuel and landing fees at the time. Cargo carriers such as
Kalitta Air,
Evergreen International Airlines, and
Polar Air Cargo would provide at least daily Boeing 747 cargo flights to Pago Pago from the US and from Asia Pacific between 1990 and 2006.
Downturn in airport usage and travel The airport was a vital link to the Samoan Islands until the runway at
Faleolo International Airport in Independent
Samoa was improved and lengthened to handle larger than Boeing 737 type aircraft in 1984. With a population that is 3.5 times greater than American Samoa plus greater emphasis that was put on tourism growth, international airline traffic particularly from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific island countries began to shift from Pago Pago to Faleolo airport. Airlines with flights from the US to Australia and New Zealand also started utilizing aircraft that did not require a refueling stopover in Pago Pago. By the late 1980s and due to heavy competition and economics, only one passenger air carrier (Hawaiian Airlines) remained to serve the Pago Pago trans pacific route.
Runway and facility expansion Runway 09/27 was the primary commercial runway for aircraft in the 1950s and early 1960s. The runway was deactivated after runway 05/23 was constructed and activated in 1964. In the mid-1970s, runway 09/27 was rehabilitated, repaved and reactivated as runway 08/26 with (length) by (width) to function as a secondary runway and taxiway. Runway 08/26 is widely used today by air taxi operators flying to Apia (Fagali'i and Faleolo), Ofu or Tau. The Departure and Arrival terminal also went through a major expansion in the mid-1970s where buildings and space was doubled in size to handle more passengers. To facilitate aircraft with large payload requirements and long distance flights, runway 05/23 was expanded in early 2001 from an original runway length of to the current . on final approach to Pago Pago International Airport Runway 5/23 On October 13 and 19, 2009, the world's largest and heaviest aircraft, the
Antonov An-225, landed at Pago Pago International Airport to deliver emergency power generation equipment during the
2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami.
Apollo space program splashdowns of American spacecraft Pago Pago International Airport had historic significance with the U.S.
Apollo Program. The
astronaut crews of
Apollo 10,
12,
13,
14, and
17 were retrieved a few hundred miles from Pago Pago and transported by helicopter to the airport prior to being flown to Honolulu on
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter military aircraft (the Apollo 10 astronauts were flown directly to Ellington Air Force Base, Texas). In April of 1970,
Apollo 13 returned to Earth, landing in the ocean near Tutuila. The astronauts were transported by helicopter to Pago Pago International Airport, where they were greeted by one of the largest crowds in American Samoan history. They were presented with Samoan gifts and entertained with traditional dances and songs before boarding their flight to Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. ==Airlines and destinations==