Loen Airport

Military obsolescence and strategic consolidation. The airstrip was built for military purposes during World War II. With the end of the war, its strategic importance vanished. Allied, and later US, air operations in the Marshall Islands were consolidated at larger, more capable airfields like Bucholz Army Airfield on Kwajalein and Majuro Airfield (now Amata Kabua International Airport), rendering small, remote satellite strips like Loen obsolete.

The site is completely abandoned and has been reclaimed by nature. Satellite imagery shows the faint, straight-line scar of the former runway, which is now heavily overgrown with dense tropical vegetation, including numerous palm trees. There is no remaining aviation infrastructure, such as buildings, hangars, or control towers. The island itself is sparsely populated, and the former airfield site is not used for any formal purpose.

Loen Airport was a World War II-era military airstrip constructed by Japanese forces as part of their extensive defensive network across the Marshall Islands. Located on Loen Island within the Ailinglaplap Atoll, it likely served as a forward operating base or a satellite field for fighter and reconnaissance aircraft. Its purpose was to help defend the Japanese outer perimeter and project air power. The airstrip was likely neutralized, bypassed, or captured by United States forces during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in early 1944. After its capture or neutralization, it fell into disuse and was abandoned following the end of the war. The ICAO identifier 'MH-0003' is not an official code assigned by the International Civil Aviation Organization but is likely a placeholder used in unofficial airfield databases to catalog historical or abandoned sites.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Loen Airport. The revival of the airstrip is considered economically and logistically unfeasible due to several factors: the extremely high cost of clearing the vegetation and reconstructing a modern runway and facilities; the island's remote location and lack of significant population or economic activity; and the presence of the active Ailinglaplap Ailuk Airport (IATA: AIC) which already serves the transportation needs of the atoll. The site is considered permanently closed.