Saipan International Airport

"Saipan International" redirects here. For the badminton tournament, seeSaipan International (badminton).

Saipan International Airport Francisco C. Ada Airport
IATA:SPN ICAO:PGSN FAALID:GSN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Commonwealth Ports Authority
Location	Saipan,Northern Mariana Islands
ElevationAMSL	215 ft / 66 m
Coordinates	15°07′08″N145°43′46″E
Website	cpa.gov.mp/spnapt.asp
Map
SPN
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 07/25 8,700 2,652 Asphalt 06/24 7,001 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations (year ending 1/31/2022) 27,875 Based aircraft 14
Source:Federal Aviation Administration

Saipan International Airport (far background), photographed from the top ofMount Tapochau.

Saipan International Airport(IATA:SPN,ICAO:PGSN,FAALID:GSN), also known asFrancisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport,is a publicairportlocated onSaipanIsland in theUnited StatesCommonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands.The airport is owned by Commonwealth Ports Authority.Its airfield was previously known asAslito(during the JapaneseSouth Seas Mandate) andIsely Field(during the AmericanWorld War IIand later period).

This airport is assigned a three-letterlocation identifierofGSNby theFederal Aviation Administration,but theInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) airport codeisSPN(the IATA assignedGSNto Mount Gunson Airport in Australia).

History

World War II

Saipan International Airport was a sugarcane field before theImperial Japanese Navy Air Service(IJNAS) constructed a temporary landing field on the site in 1933. The landing field was used for training purposes and had two runways configured in an "L" pattern. In 1937, the Navy began upgrading the airfield for full military use, despite an international law ban on constructing military facilities within theSouth Seas Mandate.Following the attack against the United States in 1941, the field was named Aslito Field (アスリート phi hành tràng ), based on the indigenousChamoruname for the area of its location, As Lito.

The IJNAS assigned two squadrons ofMitsubishi A6M5a-52 Zerosto the airfield in mid-June 1944. These squadrons took part in the occupation of the Mariana Islands during theBattle of the Philippine Sealater that month, being almost wiped out by the American forces during the battle.

The airfield was captured by theUnited States Army27th Infantry Divisionon June 18, 1944, during theBattle of Saipan.During the battle, a Zero fromGuamactually landed at Aslito Airfield, the pilot being unaware that the field was under American control. As it landed, the aircraft was fired at and damaged, crashing at the end of the runway. The pilot survived and the plane was captured. The field was renamedIsely Fieldafter United States Navy Commander Robert H. Isely who was killed on June 13, 1944, while strafing the base.

Once in American hands, Isely Field was quickly repaired and expanded bySeabeesof the 3rd Battalion20th Marines,to becomeNaval Advance Base Saipan.with the first P 47s of the 19th fighter Squadron landing on the 20th. The airfield was assigned toTwentieth Air ForceB-29 Superfortressoperations. TheXXI Bomber Commandhad overall responsibility of the B-29 operations out of the Marianas bases, and Isely Field was to be used by the73rd Bombardment Wing(which consisted of the497th,498th,499th,and500th Bombardment Groups).

On October 12, 1944, the first B-29Joltin Josie The Pacific Pioneerpiloted by Brigadier GeneralHaywood S. Hansellcommanding General ofXXI Bomber Commandand copiloted by Major Jack J Catton of the873d Bombardment Squadronarrived at Isely Field. By November 22, over 100 B-29s were at Isely. The XXI Bomber Command was assigned the task of destroying the aircraft industry of Japan in a series of high-altitude, daylight precision attacks.

After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely (and the other Twentieth Air Force airfields onGuamandTinian), GeneralCurtis LeMay,Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze. These nighttime attacks on Japan proved devastatingly effective, and the Superfortress missions from Isely Field led to massive destruction of industrial targets in Japan, with large industrial areas ofTokyo,Nagoya,andOsakabeing repeatedly attacked by waves of American bombers flying from the Marianas until the war's end.In response to these attacks, most of theJapanese air attacks on the Mariana Islandsbetween November 1944 and January 1945 targeted Isely Field.

The airfield and surviving World War II facilities were listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1981 as the "Isely Field Historic District", and are a contributing element of theNational Historic Landmark DistrictLanding Beaches; Aslito/Isely Field; & Marpi Point, Saipan Island,which was designated in 1985.

Postwar

With the end of the war the wing's four bomb groups were all returned to the United States, with their B-29s either being flown toClark Air Basein thePhilippinesfor scrapping, or were flown to storage facilities inTexasorArizona.The 73d Bomb Wing was reassigned to the United States in December 1945. The airfield was returned to civil control and it reverted to being called Aslito Field.

Terminal Airside, 2016

Saipan International Airport commenced operation on July 25, 1976, taking over from the nearbyKobler Field.Continental Micronesia(originally Air Micronesia)initially had its main hub at Kobler Field and then Saipan Airport. As time passed, the airline's general traffic to and from Saipan had decreased due to the breakup of theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands;because the territory was subdivided into smaller political units, fewer people needed to travel to Saipan, the former capital of the trust territory.On July 15, 2008, the airline's Manila-Saipan flight, the final remaining Continental Micronesia directly operated flight, ended.

Japanese tourists began visiting Saipan in large numbers during the 1970s. The airfield and terminal were significantly upgraded in 1975 to handle widebody aircraft.

Northwest Airlineshistorically served Saipan fromTokyo-NaritausingMcDonnell Douglas DC-10andBoeing 747aircraft,whileJapan Airlines(JAL) served Saipan from Narita andOsaka-Kansaiusing DC-10 andBoeing 767aircraft respectively.In 2005, JAL suspended its services from Japan to SPN; routes to Osaka and Nagoya were taken over by Northwest.The airport was also renamed after former Lt. Gov.Francisco C. Adathat year.

Delta Air Linesinherited Northwest's Saipan routes following its acquisition of Northwest in 2008. In 2018, Delta decided to withdraw from the Saipan market, simultaneously with terminating its service toPalauand one month after ending its service toGuam.Delta cited lower demand, as well as needs for additionalBoeing 757aircraft on domestic US flights, as reasons for the withdrawal. Northwest and Delta served Saipan for a total of 29 years.

Skymark Airlinesbegan flights to Saipan in 2019 usingBoeing 737sfrom Narita.

Accidents and incidents

• A Star Marianas plane crashed during takeoff on November 17, 2012, on its return from Tinian. One person was confirmed dead.

Facilities and aircraft

Terminal, groundside

Saipan International Airport covers an area of 734acres(297ha) which contains two pavedrunways:(7/25) measures 8,699 x 200 ft (2,651 x 61 m); (6/24) measures 7,001 x 100 ft (2,134 x 30 m).

For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2022, the airport had 27,875 aircraft operations, an average of 76 per day: 28%general aviation,69%air taxi,3% scheduled commercial and <1% military.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Asiana Airlines	Charter:Seoul–Incheon
Hong Kong Airlines	Charter:Hong Kong
Jeju Air	Seasonal:Busan,Seoul–Incheon
Star Marianas Air	Rota,Tinian
T'way Air	Seoul–Incheon
United Airlines	Guam,Tokyo–Narita

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from SPN (September 2022 – August 2023)

Rank	City	Passengers	Top carriers
1	Guam	41,520	United
2	Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands	26,890	Star Marianas
3	Rota, Northern Mariana Islands	7,720	Star Marianas

See also

• East Field (Saipan)
• Kobler Field
• Marpi Point Field
• USAAF in the Central Pacific

Sources

• This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theAir Force Historical Research Agency
• Dorr, Robert F. B-29 Units of World War II. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2002.ISBN1-84176-285-7
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-89201-092-4.
• Peacock, Lindsay. "Boeing B-29...First of the Superbombers". Part One.Air International,August 1989, Vol 37 No 2. ISSN 0306-5634. pp. 68–76, 87.
• Rust, Kenn C. Twentieth Air Force Story...in World War II. Temple City, California: Historical Aviation Album, 1979.ISBN0-911852-85-9.
• pacificwrecks

External links

• Commonwealth Ports Authority: Saipan International Airport
• Aviation Photos: Obyan – Saipan International (SPN / GSN / PGSN)fromAirliners.net
• FAA Airport Diagram for Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport (GSN) (PGSN)(PDF),effective July 11, 2024
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAAairport information for SPN
  • AirNavairport information for PGSN
  • ASNaccident history for SPN
  • FlightAwareairport informationandlive flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWSlatest weather observations for PGSN
  • SkyVectoraeronautical chart for SPN