Airport type Public Elevation AMSL 18 ft / 5 m Elevation 4 m | Code MDY | |
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Operator American Airports Corp.(under sub-contract with Chugach Industries, Inc.) Location Sand Island, Midway Atoll Website www.americanairports.com Owners United States Department of the Interior, United States Fish and Wildlife Service |
Henderson Field (IATA: MDY, ICAO: PMDY) 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.
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Henderson Field was named after Major Lofton R. Henderson (killed in the Battle of Midway during WWII) and is one of 3 airfields so-named (the other 2 include the original Henderson Field on Eastern Island (Midway Atoll) and Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)). The airfield now provides access to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge - the sole "window" into the rich resources of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (established in 2006). It operated until 1993 as Naval Air Facility Midway.
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 (Dept. of Interior) has fully supported airport operations and maintenance with some assistance from the FAA.
Henderson Field is an uncontrolled airport (no tower). Flight arrivals and departures are typically limited to night during the months of November–June when albatross are present. (Midway Atoll NWR is the world's largest nesting albatross colony.)
Past airline service
The airfield was previously served by Aloha Airlines with scheduled weekly charter flights to and from Honolulu utilizing a Boeing 737-200 jetliner. In early 2000, Aloha began scheduled 737 passenger service between Midway Island and Honolulu. Continental Micronesia also served Midway with Boeing 727 jetliners during the early 1970s.
During the early 1950s, the airfield was used as a technical stop by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) 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 1,200 acres (486 ha) and has one runway: