High Cost of Landing an Aircraft

Fundamentals that affect the tourist direct connection at all. One factor that mth of the industry at present is th places like Australasia and the Pacific Islands. This a smmahmg which the international airline operators are very but ■y, in their turn, are affected by conditions right outside their control.

E landing-charges at international airports for big jet aircraft are a >r in fare costing that is very fre tly overlooked by both passengers promoters of tourism. It costs, example, something like £FIBO y time an Intercontinental type ng 707 (the type used by Pan :rican) lands at Nadi Airport, Fiji. :osts only slightly less for the Her type used by Qantas. et, even with these high charges, operation of Nadi is some Ireds of thousands of <£’s in the annually, the deficit being made >y the partners in the South Pacific

Air Transport Council (Australia, UK, New Zealand, Canada and Fiji).

At present the concluding stage has been reached in the construction of a jet airport at Tafuna, American Samoa. It has been suggested that when ready later this year, some air lines now using Nadi will use Tafuna instead and that American Samoa will make a big bid for a share of the tourist traffic that now goes to Fiji.

Much will depend, of course, on whether the Americans are prepared to run their new international airport at an even bigger loss than Nadi—in other words how much they will charge for jet landing-fees.