Whats it like to fly through Goroka Airport in PNG
Whats it like flying through Goroka Airport in Papua New Guinea? Well honestly it is not all that bad and is probably one of the better airports in the country.
It is tough economies of scale and there are dangers and annoyances at the airport that need to be kept in mind!
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Table of Contents
What the Goroka?
Goroka is the capital of Eastern Highlands Province and has a population of around 20,000 people in the city itself, with a much larger population in the surrounding area. It is not exactly the most exciting place in PNG, and while it is not necessarily somewhere you need to be terrified of, it can be semi dangerous, particularly once you get away from the more obvious tourist areas.
The big exception to the general boredom is the Goroka Show, which sees more than 100 Highlands tribes descend on the city for one of the biggest cultural festivals in the Pacific. When this is on, the place is absolutely rammed and getting a flight can be an entirely different proposition – AKA impossible.
What the Goroka Airport?
The actual airport was first opened by the Japanese during their little sojourn to the area in WW2. It then remained a shit hole until the Asian Development Bank and the Japanese rebuilt it in 2018. This was at a cost of around $30 million dollars!
The upgrade included a new terminal building, runway pavement strengthening and widening of the runway strip, with the new terminal commissioned in June 2018.
Goroka Airport Stats
- Airport name: Goroka Airport
- IATA code: GKA
- ICAO code: AYGA
- Location: Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea
- Elevation: approximately 1,585 metres / 5,199 feet
- Runway: 17R/35L
- Runway length: approximately 1,646 metres
- Runway surface: Asphalt
- Airport type: Public
- Operator: National Airports Corporation
- Normal operating hours: 8:00am to 5:00pm
- Largest aircraft category: Dash 8
- Terminal: Domestic
- Airport contact: +675 532 1260
- Email: AOM_Goroka@nac.com.pg
Goroka Airport check out my TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZN8LJxr3d
Facilities at Goroka Airport
OK, so there is not much to do, eat or drink here. There’s also no smoking area like they do have in Lae. Technically, though, there are 3 cafes, one of these is always closed, one has some shirts and lastly there is Lolas Cafe. She has no pies, nor even a solitary saveloy. Instead she offers Pop Mie noodles, mud pie and the like. She does though have cold drinks at least.
There’s actually street food and Kai Bars next to the airport that I have been to more than once. They are though in the sketchy part of town, so, you know, go with a PNG guy.
There is no Wi-Fi at Goroka Airport, but data in PNG is good and cheap. I will do a digital nomad Goroka guide later…
Dangers and annoyances at Goroka Airport
While it is not as corrupt as other places, it does still exist. Outside of the airport I have had guys try to extort money from me for smoking. Guess what? Paiawaraman did not pay. Generally, though, you don’t have to pay bribes to get on planes (for the most part).
Flights here, though, are late, pretty much always! But that is just flying in PNG, to be fair! So, here comes the real big issue. Do not even try to fly in and out of Goroka anywhere near the Goroka Show/Goroka Festival as the big boys have all paid their bribes and you WILL get bumped. This is not an opinion, it is a simple fact.
And it does not get much better around the Mount Hagen festival either, with the flights directly after being hard to manage, again without bribes.
Destinations from Goroka Airport
OK, so you can fly to Port Moresby with Air Niugini and PNG Air. I shit you not, that is it.
Scheduled destinations
- Port Moresby, with Air Niugini
- Port Moresby, with PNG Air
Air Niugini currently lists Goroka to Port Moresby as its scheduled route, while PNG Air also operates into Goroka and specifically promotes flights for the Goroka Show.
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