Honiara International Airport

Honiara International Airport (formerly Henderson Field)
Aerial view of aircraft wrecks at Henderson Field in 1942/43 with wrecked Grumman F4F-4 Wildcats and Douglas SBD Dauntless visible in the lower part of the picture
IATA: HIR – ICAO: AGGH
Summary
Airport type	Military
Location	Guadalcanal
Elevation AMSL	28 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	09°25′41″S 160°03′17″E / 9.42806°S 160.05472°E / -9.42806; 160.05472Coordinates: 09°25′41″S 160°03′17″E / 9.42806°S 160.05472°E / -9.42806; 160.05472
Map
HIR Location of the airport in Solomon Islands
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 06/24 7,218 2,200 Asphalt

For the military history of the airport, see Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)

Honiara International Airport (IATA: HIR, ICAO: AGGH), formerly known as Henderson Field, is an airport located on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands. It is the only international airport in the Solomon Islands and is located 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the capital Honiara.

History

Control of the airstrip was the focus of months of fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II. In 1942 the airfield was under construction by the Imperial Japanese Navy when captured by American forces, who went on to complete it.

Henderson Field was named for Marine Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241 who was killed in action at the Battle of Midway while leading his squadron into action against the Japanese carrier forces thereby becoming the first Marine aviator to perish during the battle.

The field was abandoned after the war, but reopened in 1969 as a modernized civilian airport. The airport is capable of accommodating Boeing 737s.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Honiara International Airport.

• Airport information for AGGH at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.