Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Saipan International Airport, also known as Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, serves the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It occupies the site of the former Japanese-built Aslito airfield, captured and developed by American forces as Isely Field during the Battle of Saipan in 1944, and today handles the Commonwealth's international and inter-island air traffic. For a simulator pilot, its long ILS-equipped runway, wartime history and Pacific island setting make it a rewarding Western Pacific destination.
Saipan International Airport lies on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States Commonwealth in the Western Pacific. Operated by the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the field is also known by its dedication name, Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, and carries the FAA identifier GSN alongside its IATA code SPN. It is of particular interest to sim pilots for its long paved runway capable of taking wide-body jets, its ILS approach, and its layered history as a Japanese Imperial Navy airfield and later a major American B-29 base.
The airport sits at I Fadang in Saipan Municipality, on Saipan Island in the Northern Mariana Islands. Air traffic in the area is coordinated with Guam Center, whose frequency is used for wider area control, with local ground and tower services provided at the field itself.
Saipan International Airport has two physical runways. Runway 07/25 is 8,672 feet long, has a hard paved surface, is lit, and runway 07 is served by an ILS approach. Runway 06/24 is a shorter hard paved, lit runway, quoted at 4,876 feet from the 06 threshold and 6,989 feet from the 24 threshold. Field elevation is 207 feet.
The tower operates as Saipan Tower on 125.7 MHz, with ground movements handled on 121.8 MHz. Clearance and pre-departure information is available on the ATIS at 127.2 MHz, and Saipan Radio can be reached on 123.6 MHz. Guam Center provides area control on 118.4 MHz. Runway 07 is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airfield began as a sugarcane field before the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service built a temporary landing ground here in 1933, initially with two runways in an L-shaped pattern used for training. From 1937 the Navy upgraded the site for full military use despite international restrictions on military construction in the South Seas Mandate. After Japan's attack on the United States in 1941 the field was named Aslito Field, and by mid-1944 it hosted Imperial Navy Zero squadrons that fought in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. American forces of the 27th Infantry Division captured the airfield on 18 June 1944 during the Battle of Saipan; it was renamed Isely Field in honour of Commander Robert H. Isely, killed while strafing the base days earlier. Seabees rapidly repaired and expanded the airfield, which became a major base for Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan, hosting the 73rd Bombardment Wing and its four bombardment groups. The first B-29 arrived in October 1944, and by November over 100 Superfortresses were based there, flying both high-altitude precision raids and later the devastating low-level incendiary missions ordered by General Curtis LeMay. The airfield and its surviving wartime facilities were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as the Isely Field Historic District, and form part of a National Historic Landmark District designated in 1985. After the war the site reverted to civil use under the name Aslito Field, and the modern Saipan International Airport commenced operations on 25 July 1976, taking over commercial traffic from the nearby Kobler Field.
Saipan International Airport remains the principal gateway for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, handling international and inter-island air services to Saipan, Rota and Tinian. It is capable of accommodating wide-bodied aircraft.