Mota Lava Airport Explained

Mota Lava Airport
Nativename:Valua Airport
Iata:MTV
Icao:NVSA
Type:Public
City-Served:Mota Lava, Torba, Vanuatu
Location:Aplow
Elevation-F:63
Elevation-M:19
Coordinates:-13.6658°N 167.7111°W
Pushpin Map:Vanuatu
Pushpin Mapsize:200
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of airport in Vanuatu
Pushpin Relief:yes
Pushpin Label:MTV
Pushpin Label Position:right
Metric-Rwy:y
R1-Length-M:900
R1-Length-F:2,953
Footnotes:Sources:[1]

Mota Lava Airport is an airport located on the island of Mota Lava, one of the Banks Islands in the Torba province in Vanuatu. Also known as Valua Airport, it is located on the eastern end of Motalava island, near the village of Aplow (formerly known as Valuwa).

Characteristics

The airport is situated at an elevation of 63feet above mean sea level. It has one runway, 900m (3,000feet) in length.

Out of the four airports in the Torba province, Valua Airport has the length and reliability advantage. Air Vanuatu coordinates all maintenance and rehabilitation programs of the building facilities, including the runway. Identical to other island aircraft ports throughout the archipelago, safety and security fencing is still lacking.

Valua airport is 12 km from the island's main center. There may be one or two four-wheel drive vehicles available on some flights, but their availability is not guaranteed. One can also hike to the island's center by foot in just under three hours. Water sources are scarce and many are unsafe for drinking. At times there are road markets, basically non-cooked island crops up for sale, with hot meals being occasionally served. No clinic or restroom can be found near the airport boundary.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.wikimapia.org/16614868/ Mota Lava Airfield