Munda International Airport | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Location | Munda, New Georgia island | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 10 ft / 3 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 08°19′40.69″S 157°15′47.13″E / 8.3279694°S 157.2630917°E | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Munda International Airport (IATA: MUA, ICAO: AGGM) is an international airport adjacent to the town of Munda, Western Province in Solomon Islands.
Originally built by Japanese forces during World War II and further developed by the U. S. Naval Construction Battalions 24 and 73 following its capture. After the war, the airfield became a commercial airport for regional flights. In 2015, a New Zealand government aid and development project significantly upgraded the field to an international airport.[1] The upgrade included the removal of a large amount of unexploded ordnance left behind by vacating Japanese and US forces.[2] Although there were no international flights scheduled by 2019, the main economic purpose of the upgrade is to serve as an alternate field for international flights to Honiara International Airport, significantly reducing the fuel load and improving the economics of the flight. For example, prior to the Munda upgrade, a flight from Brisbane to Honiara had to carry sufficient fuel to return to Brisbane because that was the nearest viable alternate. In 2023 opened new international terminal building. Since 6 January 2024 there's once weekly direct international flight from Brisbane, Australia operated by Solomon Airlines Airbus A320.