Funafuti International Airport Funafuti International Airport is an airport in Funafuti , capital of the island nation of Tuvalu . Fiji Airways ( trading as Pacific Sun ) operates twice weekly services between Suva ( originating from Nadi ) and Funafuti with a ATR - 42 500 with a capacity of 42 passengers and cargo . History . Funafuti Airport was built by United States Navy Seabee construction battalions in 1943 during World War II . The military airfield included an airstrip , control tower , facilities and radio station at Tepuka , connected by cable to the airfield . The base headquarters buildings were at the present - day Teagai Apelu ' s residence , and a bunker is there to this day . The first offensive operation was launched on 20 April 1943 when 22 B - 24 Liberator aircraft from 371 and 372 Bombardment Squadrons bombed Nauru . The next day the Japanese made a predawn raid on the strip at Funafuti that destroyed one B - 24 and caused damage to five other planes . On 22 April , 12 B - 24 aircraft bombed Tarawa . The airfield became the headquarters of the United States Army Air Forces VII Bomber Command in November 1943 , directing operations against Japanese forces on Tarawa and other bases in the Gilbert Islands . The USAAF stationed two B - 24 Liberator heavy bomber groups , the 11th Wing and 30th Bombardment Group s on Funafuti in the implementation of Operation Galvanic , which lead to the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle of Makin in November 1943 . By the middle of 1944 , as the fighting moved further north toward Japan , the Americans began to withdraw . By the time the Pacific War ended in 1945 , nearly all of them , with their equipment , departed . After the war , the military airfield was developed into a commercial airport . Facilities . The airport is at an elevation of above mean sea level . It has one runway which is in length . The absence of runway lighting , minimal VHF radio and air navigation equipment means that operations are restricted to daylight hours . The runway was originally constructed using coral aggregate and has a sub - base layer of 8 cm thick coral gravel , surfaced with a 1 – 2 cm asphalt chip seal . It was last resurfaced in 1992 . The runway was originally rated at 50 tonnes landing capacity ; it is now reduced to 20 tonnes landing capacity due to sub - surface water , deterioration of the sub - base and lack of surface maintenance . The deterioration of the runway ' s sub - base is a consequence of its low elevation and the hydrologic dynamics in the sub - surface of the atoll . There was extensive swamp reclamation during World War II to create the airfield . About half of Fongafale islet is reclaimed swamp that contains porous , highly permeable coral blocks that allow the tidal forcing of salt water through the sub - base of the runway . This results in salt water pooling on the runway during spring tides . In November 2013 the World Bank announced US $ 6 million in funding to improve the operational safety of the airport and associated infrastructure . Airlines and destinations . Up to 1999 Air Marshall Island operated a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 with a passenger load of 55 . In 2001 the government purchased a share of Air Fiji in 2001 , which provided Tuvalu with greater control of its airline access ; however , Air Fiji ceased operations in 2009 .