Nadi International (NAN) handles 97% of Fiji's international passengers and around 38 scheduled international flights a day, serving 20 airlines and 15 cities. For a planner, that means one gateway, one arrivals hall, and a set of published rules — some of which contradict each other. This is what a group actually meets, and where the official figures disagree.
How big is Nadi, and what is changing?
Fiji Airports publishes two different passenger figures for Nadi and you should label whichever you use.
| Figure | Source |
|---|---|
| "more than 2.1 million international passengers and close to 300,000 domestic passengers annually" | Fiji Airports website, undated |
| "more than 2.4 million passengers annually" | Fiji Airports 2024 Annual Report |
| 2.895 million international / 1.039 million domestic | Fiji Airports 2024 Annual Report — network-wide across all 15 airports, not Nadi alone |
Use the 2.4 million figure for Nadi and do not mix it with the network totals. Terminal design capacity is not published at all.
The airport is mid-programme. Fiji Airports publishes a departure lounge extension, new departure gates, self-service baggage and check-in stations, a domestic terminal expansion and a solar farm. Its 2024 Annual Report puts the departure lounge expansion at an estimated $4.7m and notes six new aerobridges with installation scheduled to commence March 2025, under a 2024–2048 Nadi International Airport Master Plan. Smart gates were announced for full implementation in January 2026; we have found no Fiji Airports or Immigration confirmation that they are live, so do not build an arrivals timing model on them.
What happens on arrival?
Four steps, in order: immigration, baggage, biosecurity, customs.
Immigration. Passengers present a passport and a completed paper arrival card. Fiji Airports publishes priority processing for families with young children and infants, and assistance for passengers with disabilities on advance request. Entry requires a passport valid at least six months beyond departure, and documented proof of a return or onward ticket.
Biosecurity. The Biosecurity Authority of Fiji requires all regulated goods to be declared or disposed of in amnesty bins, and all baggage is screened by x-ray or by officers. The penalty is published plainly: a spot fine of FJD400.00, or liability for prosecution with a maximum fine of FJD20,000, six months' imprisonment, or both. Regulated goods include all food — including commercially prepared and packaged items, dried fruit, instant noodles, herbs and spices — plus plants, flowers, seeds, animal products, used equipment, soil, camping gear, bicycles and golf clubs.
Brief your delegates on this specifically. A conference group carrying branded gift hampers or trade-show samples is exactly the cohort that gets fined, and the fine is per person.
Currency. FJ$10,000 or more, or the foreign equivalent including negotiable instruments, must be declared on a Border Currency Reporting Form.
What are the duty-free allowances? (Two official answers)
This is the most important conflict in this guide, and both sources are Fijian government.
| Item | FRCS — current, use this | Fiji Airports website — superseded |
|---|---|---|
| Tobacco | 200 cigarettes / 200g cigars / 200g tobacco, or a combination not exceeding 200g | 250 sticks or 250g |
| Spirits | Not exceeding 3 litres | Not exceeding 2.25 litres |
| Wine or beer | Not exceeding 4.5 litres | 4.5 litres |
| Other dutiable goods | Not exceeding F$2,000 (F$3,000 for FRCS Gold Card holders and AEO members) | Not exceeding F$400 |
| Minimum age | 18 | 17 |
The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service is the tax authority and its Concession Code 218 guideline, updated December 2025, governs. The figures on the airport's own customs page are out of date. A separate FRCS "Tax Talk" leaflet from 2018 still online is also superseded.
One more wrinkle for the same reason: FRCS's guideline expresses the cigarette limit in grams while its own traveller page expresses it as 200 sticks. "200 cigarettes or 200g" is the safe line to give delegates.
Customs, immigration and biosecurity information here is a guideline only. Confirm current allowances and requirements with the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service and the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji before travel. Last reviewed 17 September 2026.
Is there a digital arrival card?
Not as a live, mandatory requirement, so far as any official Fijian source publishes. The only official-family reference we can find is a UNDP press release of 9 February 2023 describing a planned digital arrival card, with no launch date and no system URL. The Ministry of Immigration's "Entering Fiji" page makes no mention of an arrival card at all, and FRCS's current page describes the paper card.
Commercial sites selling an "FJDAC Fiji Digital Arrival Card" appear in search results and are not corroborated by any Fijian government page. Tell your delegates not to pay for one. Paper cards are distributed by the airlines.
Is there an official fast-track for groups?
Yes — and this matters, because most "NAN fast track" services sold online are third-party resellers with no airport relationship.
Airports Fiji Limited publishes a VIP Meet & Greet Service in two versions.
Arrivals: a dedicated Guest Relations Officer meets guests at the gate with a personalised name board, a fast-track immigration lane, baggage assistance, escort through customs and biosecurity, and handover to ground handlers.
Departures: curbside pickup with pre-coordinated timings, dedicated check-in counter escort, fast-track passport control, fast-track security screening, fast-track departure immigration, lounge access, and a personal escort to the aerobridge.
Both are booked through the Guest Relations Officer at gro@fijiairports.com.fj. No price is published for either — request a quote against your delegate numbers. For the wider mechanics of receiving a group, see Airport Meet and Greet for Conference Groups.
The arrivals concourse also carries an arrival lounge operated by Marriott Hotel, alongside tour operator desks including Rosie Tours, ATS Pacific, Tewaka, Tour Managers, Musket Cove, Epic Tours and Go Local. Several of these are in the directory — Rosie Holidays, TEWAKA Fiji, Epic Transfer & Tours Fiji and Go Local Fiji.
What lounges are there, and what does access cost?
Fiji Airways Premier Lounge — airside, ground floor of the International Departures Terminal, published as open 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM daily, hours varying with flight schedules. Access is for business class travellers, frequent flyer members and eligible partner airline guests. Critically for groups, Fiji Airports publishes a user-pay guest pass at FJD$135, available only during Fiji Airways flights.
Air New Zealand lounge — airside, ground floor, access per Air New Zealand's own eligibility rules; hours are published only as "check with your Airline Counter Service".
Virgin Australia publishes that it "does not have a Lounge or hold agreements with any third-party Lounge operators in Nadi".
When do check-in counters close?
There is no airport-wide published cut-off. Fiji Airports explicitly defers: "Passengers are advised to consult their respective airlines for recommended arrival times prior to departure."
What is published: online check-in from 48 hours up to 4 hours before departure, kiosk check-in available at Nadi, and a warning to drop bags before counters close. Airline-specific, Virgin Australia publishes counters open 3 hours before departure, arrival at least 90 minutes prior (120 minutes for large groups needing assistance), and check-in closing 60 minutes before departure. Air New Zealand publishes bag drop generally opening 3 hours before with the closing time on your e-ticket. Fiji Airways' own figures we could not retrieve — confirm directly with the airline rather than working from a number you read elsewhere.
For a group, the 120-minute figure is the one to plan to, and then add the biosecurity and immigration queue.
What is the departure tax?
FJ$140, increased from $125 effective 1 January 2024. It is collected in the ticket — "A ticket issued to any passenger shall indicate the amount of tax paid" — not payable at the airport.
Exemptions published in the Airport Departure Tax Act: children under 12; transit passengers scheduled to depart within 96 hours of arrival from outside Fiji; aircraft crew travelling on duty including positioning crew; State aircraft passengers, search and rescue personnel, diplomats and UN passport holders. The consolidated Act PDF hosted on the FRCS site still reads $100 — that consolidation predates the 2024 increase.
Separately, note for 2026-27 budgets: FRCS has published a new Tourism Services Tax of 5% applying to tourism operators above a $2 million threshold, effective 1 September 2026. Whether it applies to airfares is not published. Ask.
How do groups get out of the airport?
Taxis are owned and operated by individual proprietors with Airports Fiji approval, in designated ranks directly outside arrivals, distinctively yellow with official airport branding. Flag fall is published at FJD $7.10 and meters are mandatory on all trips from the airport; taxis with red stickers accept e-payment and international credit cards. Tourism Fiji separately quotes fares "starting at FJ$7.00" — a minor discrepancy, but use the airport's figure.
Ride-share does not operate in Fiji. Tourism Fiji publishes that "options like Lyft and Uber are not yet available". Car rental at NAN is published as Budget, Avis, Hertz/Thrifty and Coastal Rental, all requiring a valid licence and a credit card.
There is no scheduled airport coach product operated or endorsed by Airports Fiji. For groups, that means a contracted coach operator — see /category/transport — and a named marshal in the arrivals concourse.
Published drive times from the airport: Denarau approximately 20 minutes; the Coral Coast a 30-minute to 2-hour range depending on the resort; Pacific Harbour about two and a half hours from Nadi. No authoritative source publishes a Nadi–Suva road time, and the airport sits 9 km north of Nadi town.
The air access picture across routes and carriers is in Getting a Group Into Fiji: Air Access for Planners; onward domestic legs in Domestic and Inter-Island Flights in Fiji; and delegate entry requirements in Visas and Entry for Conference Delegates in Fiji.