Jefman Airport

The airport was closed to commercial traffic due to its replacement by the new, larger, and more modern Domine Eduard Osok Airport (SOQ/WASS) on the mainland. Jefman Airport's location on a small island severely restricted its potential for expansion, including runway lengthening and terminal upgrades. The new airport offered easier land-based access for the growing city of Sorong, could accommodate larger aircraft, and was better suited to handle the increasing passenger traffic driven by regional economic growth and tourism to Raja Ampat.

The airport is not abandoned. Following the cessation of commercial flights, the facility was repurposed as a military airbase. It is currently operated by the Indonesian Navy (TNI Angkatan Laut) as a naval air station (Pangkalan Udara Angkatan Laut/Lanudal). The runway and basic infrastructure are maintained for military transport, patrol, and logistical operations. It is now often referred to as Jefman Naval Air Base.

Jefman Airport has significant military and civil aviation history.

**World War II:** Originally constructed by the Japanese, the airfield was captured by Allied forces during the Battle of Sansapor in July 1944. It was quickly developed into a major airbase for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Fifth Air Force. Known as Jefman Airfield, it played a crucial role in the New Guinea campaign and the subsequent liberation of the Philippines. It hosted numerous fighter and bomber units, including P-38 Lightning fighters and B-25 Mitchell bombers, which conducted missions to neutralize remaining Japanese forces in the region.

**Commercial Era:** After the war, it was converted into the primary civilian airport for Sorong, holding the IATA code SOQ and ICAO code WASS (which were later transferred to its successor). For decades, it was the sole air gateway to Sorong and the resource-rich Vogelkop Peninsula, serving the oil and gas industry, local administration, and commerce. Airlines such as Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Nusantara Airlines operated scheduled flights with aircraft like the Fokker F27, Fokker F28, and Boeing 737-200. Until its closure, it was the main entry point for international tourists heading to the world-renowned Raja Ampat archipelago.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Jefman Airport to commercial civilian traffic. The new Domine Eduard Osok Airport on the mainland has undergone significant expansion and modernization, including a new terminal inaugurated in 2016, and it fully serves the region's current and projected needs. The logistical and economic impracticality of operating commercial flights from an island location, combined with the superior facilities of the new airport, makes its reopening for commercial purposes highly unlikely. Its future is firmly established as a military installation.