Henderson Field (Midway Atoll)


Henderson Field is a public airport located on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The airport is used as an emergency diversion point for ETOPS operations. It is one of three airfields named after Major Lofton R. Henderson, together with Henderson Field on Midway's Eastern Island, and Henderson Field in the Solomon Islands. The airfield now provides access to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
The airfield operated until 1993 as Naval Air Facility Midway. Its construction was begun by Seabees of the 1st Naval Construction Battalion in July 1942 as a bomber strip. After transition from the U.S. Navy to the Department of the Interior, the airport was subsidized by Boeing until 2004. Since 2004, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has fully supported airport operations and maintenance with some assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Henderson Field has no control tower. Flight arrivals and departures are typically limited to night during November to June when albatross are present.

Past airline service

The airfield was previously served by Aloha Airlines with scheduled weekly charter flights to and from Honolulu using a Boeing 737-200 jetliner. In early 2000, Aloha began scheduled 737 passenger service between Midway Island and Honolulu.
Continental Micronesia served Midway with Boeing 727-100 jetliners during the early 1970s although the airport was only used as an "operational stop" on this airline's westbound service from Honolulu to Guam. The routing of these 727 flights was Honolulu - Midway Island - Kwajalein - Majuro - Ponape - Truk - Guam.
During the early 1950s, the airfield was used as a technical stop by Pan American World Airways for its Boeing 377 Stratocruiser propliners as part of Pan Am's round the world service from New York City to San Francisco via London, Frankfurt, Delhi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Guam, Honolulu and other en route stops.

Facilities

Henderson Field covers and has one runway.
, in 2008.

Accidents and incidents