French Polynesia Wants to be an ATR Maintenance Hub

By Andrew Curran.

The French Polynesian Government and state-owned domestic airline, Air Tahiti, want to open an ATR maintenance centre and for it to become a regional centre of excellence.

French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson, French High Commissioner Alexandre Rochatte, and Air Tahiti GM Edouard Wong Fat, signed the letter of intent in Papeete on October 24, 2025.

The maintenance centre would not only serve Tahitian operators, it would also be available to other ATR operators in the region.

Air Tahiti operates twelve ATRs while local competitor Air Moana has three. Elsewhere in the region, Air Calédonie operates four ATR72-600s; Air Chathams has two ATR72-500s, Air New Zealand has twenty-nine ATR72-600s; Air Vanuatu has one; Fiji Airways has two ATR72-600s; Australia's Aerlink has nine ATRs in assorted configurations, and PNG Air has eight ATR72-600s.

The maintenance centre would be at Papeete’s Faaʼa International Airport (PPT).

While no details were forthcoming about cost or financial commitments, Papeete’s ATR maintenance centre would take approximately three years to complete and compete with established centres in Auckland and Singapore, where many of the region’s ATRs are now serviced.

Air Tahiti already does much of its maintenance in-house but it does not do any work for other airlines. Wong Fat says the existing facilities are “a little cramped.” One of the immediate challenges is to find the space for the maintenance centre at Faaʼa International, which is also space-constrained. However, a site in the northern zone near the lagoon is the most likely location.

The maintenance centre’s promotors say a Papeete option would minimise aircraft downtime, resulting in reduced servicing costs. Major checks now done in Singapore are resulting in aircraft going out of service for up to three months, at considerable expense and disruption to the operator.

They also say an ATR maintenance centre would help create local jobs and develop skilled new technical roles in French Polynesia.

The signing builds on a verbal announcement regarding a maintenance centre at the Pacific-France Summit in Nice in June.

Photo: Air Tahiti.