For many people, Easter Island is a bucket list travel destination. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometers from the west coast of South America, the island is best known for its famous stone statues of human figures known as 'Moai.' Given the island's remote location in the middle of one of the world's major oceans, aerial connectivity is a vital necessity to keep it linked.
This comes in the form of Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located in the southwest of the island at the top of a narrow peninsula that is spanned almost entirely by the facility's runway. The facility has been operational for almost six decades now, largely serving routes to the mainland of Chile, as well as other destinations in the South Pacific. Today, just one airline offers flights there.
The world's most remote airport As well as being known for being the aerial gateway to Easter Island and its famous stone statues, Mataveri International is also notable for being the world's most remote airport. According to Imagina Rapa Nui , it is situated some 2,603 km (1,617.43 miles) from the next closest commercial facility, which is none other than Totegegie Airport (GMR), serving Mangareva in French Polynesia's Gambier Islands.
Want answers to more key questions in aviation? Check out the rest of our guides here ! As seen in the video embedded above, the airport is located on a raised plateau next to the coastline of Easter Island, with Imagina Rapa Nui noting that it sit.
