Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport

Antonio B. Won Pat
International Airport

IATA: GUM – ICAO: PGUM – FAA LID: GUM

GUM
Location of the Airport in Guam

Summary
Airport type Public
Owner A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam
Serves Guam
Location Barrigada and Tamuning, Guam
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 305 ft / 93 m
Coordinates 13°29′02″N 144°47′50″E / 13.48389°N 144.79722°E / 13.48389; 144.79722
Website guamairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6L/24R 12,015 3,662 Asphalt/Concrete
6R/24L 10,014 3,052 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2006, 2010)
Aircraft operations (2006) 36,948
Based aircraft (2006) 74
Passengers (2010) 2,807,205
Source: Federal Aviation Administration,[1] Airport Website[2]

Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (IATA: GUM, ICAO: PGUM), also known as Guam International Airport, is an airport located in Tamuning and Barrigada,[3] three miles east of the capital city of Hagåtña (formerly Agana) in the United States territory of Guam. The airport is a hub for United Airlines and Asia Pacific Airlines and is also the home of the former Naval Air Station Agana. It is named after Antonio Borja Won Pat, the first delegate from Guam to the United States House of Representatives, and is operated by the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam (GIAA, Chamorro: Aturidat Puetton Batkon Airen Guahan Entenasionat),[4] an agency of the Government of Guam.

History

Aerial photograph of the airport

Military use

The airport was built by the Japanese Navy about 1943, calling the military airfield Guamu Dai Ni (Guam No. 2) as part of their defense of the Marianas. After the island was recaptured by American forces in 1944, it was renamed Agana Airfield, due to the proximity of the town. After being repaired in October 1944, the United States Army Air Forces Seventh Air Force used the airfield as a base for the 11th Bombardment Group, which flew B-24 Liberator bombers from the station until being moved to Okinawa in July 1945. With the reassignment of the heavy bombers, the 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron flew long-range reconnaissance aircraft (F-4 P-38 Lightnings) from the field until January 1946.

After the war, the USAAF used the airfield for fighter defense of the Marianas (21st Fighter Group), (549th Night Fighter Squadron) until early 1947 and as a transport hub (9th Troop Carrier Squadron). In 1947, the USAAF turned over the airfield to the United States Navy, which consolidated its facilities with those at the closing Harmon Air Force Base in 1949, and operated Naval Air Station Agana until it was closed by the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.[5][6][7]

Civilian use

Travel to Guam was restricted to military personnel with a security clearance until 1962. During these early years, a single Quonset hut served as Guam's air terminal. The lifting of this travel restriction spurred the development of the airport; its International Air Terminal opened in March 1967 and accommodated its first tour group from Japan two months later.[8] Operations of the terminal were passed onto the Government of Guam's Department of Commerce in 1969. In 1975, the Guam International Airport Authority (GIAA) was created as a separate agency. After NAS Agana was closed in April 1995, GIAA took over the entire airport's operations.[9]

A new passenger terminal building was opened in 1982, and the current, much larger terminal building was opened in phases between 1996 and 1998.[10]

After a period of seasonal charters, the first regular flight to Mainland China from Guam was established in 2014.[11] The United Airlines service to Shanghai Pudong Airport began on October 29, 2014.[12]

Customs, immigration, and security inspections

Arrival passenger inspection is conducted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP, immigration only) and Guam Customs & Quarantine Agency (GCQA). Departure security checks are conducted by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).[13]

Customs

Since Guam is outside the United States customs jurisdiction, passengers from all arrival flights go through GCQA inspection. Passengers bound for Honolulu (currently the only Stateside flight) go through a normal USCBP customs inspection upon arrival.

Immigration

The USCBP inspects all arriving passengers from foreign points. Passengers arriving from the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a separate U.S. immigration jurisdiction with slightly different visa requirements, are pre-inspected there for admissibility to Guam. Nonstop passengers bound for Honolulu are pre-inspected at Guam's boarding gate for admissibility to the States because of the Guam & CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which gives tourists from certain Asian countries visa-free entry (to Guam/CNMI but not the States). For U.S. citizens, passports are not required to enter Guam from the CNMI (i.e., other forms of ID proving admissibility are accepted), but are required for those transiting a foreign country between the States and Guam.

Transit passengers (except from Honolulu and the CNMI) are also inspected by the USCBP before being allowed to proceed to their connecting gate. However, since all onward flights depart Guam's customs jurisdiction, no baggage claim is necessary.

Security

The TSA conducts security inspection for all departing passengers and all transit passengers not arriving from the States and the CNMI, which are already screened by TSA at their origins. However, Guam-Honolulu passengers who have onward connections must go through TSA inspection again in Honolulu because they will have come into contact with their checked baggage during U.S. customs inspection there.

Facilities

Passenger terminal

Semi-permanent barriers separating arrival and departure passengers
Old terminal building

The current passenger terminal's first phase was completed on September 10, 1996. The 550,000-square-foot (51,000 m2) terminal included a new customs and immigration hall and a 710 space parking lot. In August 1998 the second phase of the current passenger terminal opened.[14] The expansion program that opened the current terminal had a cost of $741 million.[10] The terminal has three levels. The basement level houses arrival facilities, including customs and baggage claim. The basement also houses the GIAA Airport Police and GIAA Arcade offices and the Hafa Adai Gardens. The apron level (the departure level) houses the ticketing counters. The third floor houses the departure gates, immigration facilities, and GIAA administrative offices.[15]

Since all flights require customs or immigration inspection, the airport's post-security concourse and gate area was not designed to separate arriving and departing passengers. The only normal passenger entrance is through security and the only normal exit is through immigration. Except for the few gates designated for Honolulu arrivals, which route passengers directly to customs, all other gates do not have a separate arrival corridor. Arrival passengers walk directly into the gates waiting area, and in the past could actually purchase food or merchandise before entering the immigration hall.

The original design is said to be compliant with security standards at the time of opening. However, after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. government began to require separation of uninspected arrival passengers. The airport initially used a system of chairs, moving sidewalks, retractable belts and security/police staffing to usher arriving passengers from the gate to the immigration hall without coming into physical contact with departing passengers. In recent years, semi-permanent movable walls separate much of the length of the terminal building into two halves, decreasing the need for human staffing and those lighter objects previously in use.[16]

Old terminal building

The old terminal served as the corporate headquarters of Continental Micronesia until late 2010.[17] The 220,000-square-foot (20,000 m2),[14] $43 million Commuter Terminal was dedicated on January 19, 1982.[14] At the time of opening, the Guamanian people referred to the terminal as a "white elephant," believing that the terminal was so large that it would never be fully used.[10] After the current terminal building opened, the old terminal building became the Commuter Terminal (serving Freedom Air and Pacific Island Aviation). By 2003 the Guam International Airport Authority moved commuter airlines out of the Commuter Terminal and leased the entire facility to Continental Micronesia.[18]

Other facilities

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Air Busan Busan[21]
Cebu Pacific Manila
China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan
Delta Air Lines Tokyo-Narita
EVA Air Taipei-Taoyuan
HK Express Hong Kong (begins December 15, 2016)[22]
Japan Airlines Tokyo-Narita
Jeju Air Busan,[23] Seoul-Incheon
Jin Air Busan,[24] Seoul-Incheon
Korean Air Osaka-Kansai, Seoul-Incheon
Charter: Jeju
Philippine Airlines Manila
Star Marianas Air[25] Rota, Saipan
T'way Airlines Daegu,[26] Osaka-Kansai,[26] Seoul-Incheon[26]
Seasonal Charter: Fukuoka[27]
United Airlines Chuuk, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Koror, Kosrae, Kwajalein, Majuro, Manila, Nagoya-Centrair, Osaka-Kansai, Pohnpei, Sapporo-Chitose, Sendai, Shanghai-Pudong, Tokyo-Narita, Yap
Seasonal Charter: Beijing-Capital[28]
United Express Rota, Saipan

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Asia Pacific Airlines[29]Majuro, Pohnpei
UPS AirlinesHong Kong, Honolulu

Statistics

Top Destinations

Busiest domestic routes from GUM (Dec 2014 – Nov 2015)[30]
Rank City Passengers Top carriers
1 Honolulu, Hawaii 88,580 United
2 Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 39,240 Star Marianas, United
3 Rota, Northern Mariana Islands 7,000 Star Marianas, United

Accidents and incidents

Several fatal accidents have occurred on and near Guam over the years. In total, 367 deaths occurred from 6 different aircraft accidents.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. ↑ FAA Airport Master Record for GUM (Form 5010 PDF), retrieved 2007-03-15
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "CBC66010_009.pdf." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Memorandum." Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport Authority. August 31, 2007. Retrieved on October 6, 2010.
  5. ↑ Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  6. ↑ Pacific Wrecks. "PACIFIC WRECKS - World War II Pacific". Pacific Wrecks. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  7. ↑ John Pike. "Naval Air Station, Agana". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "From A Hut and Seaplanes to an International Hub and Jet Planes Celebrate Airport Week 2011". A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.guamairport.com/about-your-airport/history-and-timeline/general-history
  10. 1 2 3 "Expansion Project History." Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport Authority. Retrieved on October 6, 2010.
  11. ↑ Daleno, Gaynor Dumat-ol. "Guam has high hopes for United service to Seoul, Shanghai." USA Today. October 31, 2014. Retrieved on February 16, 2015.
  12. ↑ "United Airlines inaugurates historic nonstop service between Guam and Shanghai, China" (Archive). United Airlines at Marianas Variety. October 29, 2014. Retrieved on February 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  14. 1 2 3 "Timeline." Guam International Airport Authority. Retrieved on October 6, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Terminal Layout." Guam International Airport Authority. Retrieved on October 6, 2010.
  16. ↑ Airport to build concourse isolation area beyond TSA checkpoint (Archive), Marianas Variety Guam Edition, December 27, 2013.
  17. ↑ Letter. United States Department of Transportation Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings. May 23, 1997. Retrieved on October 4, 2010. "Continental Micronesia Old Terminal Bldg. P.O. Box 8778-G Tamuning, GU 96931-8778."
  18. ↑ "Fiscal Year 2003 Overview." Guam International Airport Authority at Guam Chamber of Commerce. 3/4. Retrieved on October 13, 2010. "Movement of Operations from Commuter Terminal to Main Terminal As part of our streamlining, the Authority successfully moved the Commuter Terminal operations to the Main Terminal and leased the entire former Commuter Terminal to Continental Airlines."
  19. ↑ "Media Advisory." Government of Guam. December 14, 2006. Retrieved on October 13, 2010.
  20. ↑ "JAL Bases Pilot Training on Guam". 4 October 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  21. ↑ "Air Busan to Start Busan - Guam Service from late-July 2015". Airlineroute.net. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  22. ↑ "HK Express schedules Guam / Saipan debut in W16". routesonline. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "Jeju Air Adds Busan - Guam Service from Jan 2015". Airline Route. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  24. ↑ "Jin Air Adds New Guam / Saipan Service in S16". airlineroute. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  25. ↑ http://www.starmarianasair.com/
  26. 1 2 3 http://www.twayair.com/Company/Report/View.aspx?seq=187
  27. ↑ "T'Way Air Adds Fukuoka – Guam Charters in March 2016". airlineroute. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  28. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/12/23/ua-gumpek-feb16/
  29. ↑
  30. ↑ "RITA | BTS | Transtats". Transtats.bts.gov. 2016-02-24. Retrieved Feb 2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  31. ↑ "In-flight fire - Airbus A330-202, VH-EBF, 427 km south-west of Guam, USA, 10 June 2009". Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Retrieved 29 April 2014.

External links

Media related to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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