Henderson Field is a public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

located on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The airport is used as an emergency diversion point for

ETOPS ETOPS () is an acronym for ''Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards''—a special part of flight rules for one-engine-inoperative flight conditions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) coined the acronym for ...

operations. It is one of three airfields named after Major Lofton R. Henderson (killed in the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...

during WWII), together with Henderson Field on Midway's Eastern Island, and Henderson Field in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. The airfield now provides access to

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

. 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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

to the Department of the Interior, the airport was subsidized by

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

until 2004. Since 2004, the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

has fully supported airport operations and maintenance with some assistance from the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

. Henderson Field has no control tower. From November to June, when albatross are typically present, flight arrivals and departures are limited to night-time. (Midway Atoll NWR is the world's largest nesting albatross colony.)

Past airline service

During the early 1950s, the airfield was used as a technical stop by

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

(

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

) for its Boeing 377 Stratocruiser propliners as part of

'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. The airfield was previously served by

Aloha Airlines Aloha Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from a hub at Honolulu International Airport (now Daniel K. Inouye International Airport). Operations began on July 26, 1946, and ceased operations on March 3 ...

with scheduled weekly charter flights to and from Honolulu using a

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

jetliner. In early 2000, Aloha began scheduled 737 passenger service between Midway Island and Honolulu.

Continental Micronesia Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was a company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of ...

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.

Facilities

Henderson Field covers and has one runway.

Accidents and incidents

*On January 7, 2004, a Continental Flight 6, a Boeing 777 from Tokyo Narita Airport to Houston Intercontinental Airport carrying 294 people made an emergency landing at 03:10 local time at Midway Henderson Field due to losing an engine after suffering an oil leak from a starter. Continental flew in a Learjet with a maintenance crew of four, a new starter and additional food and water supplies for passengers to Midway. *On June 17, 2011, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 747-400 with 359 passengers and 19 crew made an emergency landing on Henderson, due to the captain's windshield having cracked. During the landing at Midway, the plane hit two birds, one of which damaged a wing flap. *On July 11, 2014, United Airlines Flight 201 from

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

made an emergency landing at Henderson Field after an "electrical odor" was detected in the cabin. An investigation revealed that an equipment supply cooling fan had malfunctioned. *On April 16, 2021, United Airlines Flight 2781 made a emergency landing at Henderson Field after smoke/odor smell in the cockpit (reported in ACARS messages). The flight departed

, and was on its way to Los Angeles, operated with a Boeing 787-9, registration number N24974. This flight carried only cargo. *On September 25, 2021, a Hawaiian Airlines A330 (N396HA) experienced an in-flight engine shut down and diverted to Midway Atoll. The aircraft was en route from Seoul (ICN) to Honolulu (HNL).

References

External links

AirNav - Henderson Field Airport
airport facilities and navigational aids {{authority control Airports in the United States Minor Outlying Islands Midway Atoll

Past airline service

Facilities

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links