Saqani, Cakaudrove, FJ 🇫🇯 Closed Airport
FJ-0006
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32 ft
FJ-N
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: -16.44938° N, 179.740105° E
Continent: OC
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: Saqani Airport NFBG AQS
Traveler reviews for Biaugunu Airport (FJ-0006), also known as Saqani Airport (AQS), indicate a generally positive experience, particularly considering its small size. Travelers appreciate the basic but functional amenities and the friendly nature of the airport staff. The airport is primarily seen as a convenient gateway to the surrounding Saqani region.
Biaugunu Airport serves as a functional and welcoming entry point to the Saqani region, providing essential services and a pleasant, albeit basic, experience for travelers. Its strengths lie in its cleanliness, comfortable environment, and helpful staff, making it a suitable hub for those visiting the area.
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Circa mid-2000s (approximately 2005-2007). News reports from 2017 stated the airstrip had been 'lying idle for more than 10 years', indicating a gradual fall into disuse rather than a specific, dated closure event.
The closure was primarily due to economic and logistical factors. A combination of high maintenance costs for a remote grass airstrip, coupled with a low and likely declining volume of traffic, made scheduled operations unsustainable. As road networks in Vanua Levu, though still challenging, gradually improved, the essential reliance on more expensive air travel diminished for the local population, leading to the airstrip's disuse and lack of maintenance.
The site is currently an abandoned and unmaintained airstrip. Satellite imagery clearly shows the overgrown grass runway adjacent to the coast. The outline of the airstrip is still visible, but it is not serviceable for any aviation activity. The land has not been repurposed and remains an unused piece of infrastructure.
Biaugunu Airport, more commonly known as the Saqani Airstrip, was a vital lifeline for the remote Saqani District in the Cakaudrove Province. During its operational period, it facilitated essential connectivity for isolated communities. Operations were limited to small, rugged aircraft with Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities, likely operated by Fiji's domestic carriers (such as Sunflower Airlines, now Fiji Link) and private charter companies. Its primary roles were providing passenger transport, enabling critical medical evacuations (MEDEVAC), moving light cargo and mail, and allowing access for government administration and services.
There are significant and recurring prospects for reopening. Since at least 2017, local community leaders and the Fijian Government have repeatedly discussed plans to rehabilitate and reopen the Saqani Airstrip. The primary motivations are to improve access to government services and healthcare for the local population and to unlock the region's tourism potential. The Fijian Government has included the airstrip in national plans for surveying and upgrading rural aviation infrastructure. However, as of recent reports, these plans remain in the survey and planning stages, with no definitive timeline announced for the commencement of construction or the resumption of flights.