Talasea, PG 🇵🇬 Closed Airport
PG-0095
-
369 ft
PG-WBK
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: -5.31578° N, 150.03775° E
Continent: OC
Type: Closed Airport
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The exact date of official closure is unknown. The airstrip was a World War II-era field that fell into disuse in the post-war period. It likely became fully defunct and was abandoned by the 1970s or 1980s as regional air services were consolidated at the larger, more modern Hoskins Airport (AYHK).
The primary reason for closure was redundancy and economic non-viability. The development and subsequent upgrades of the nearby Hoskins Airport (IATA: HKN, ICAO: AYHK), located approximately 45 km to the east, rendered the small Talasea Airstrip obsolete. Hoskins Airport was established as the primary aviation hub for West New Britain Province, capable of handling larger commercial aircraft (like the Fokker 70/100) and greater passenger volumes, which the old Talasea strip could not support.
The site is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals the faint, overgrown outline of the former runway, which is now covered in grass, shrubs, and surrounded by the Volupai palm oil plantation. There is no remaining aviation infrastructure such as hangars, terminals, or navigation equipment. The land has been effectively reclaimed for agricultural use and by natural vegetation.
The airstrip has significant historical importance dating back to World War II. It was originally constructed by Japanese forces during their occupation of New Britain. The airstrip, then known as 'Talasea Airfield' or sometimes 'Volupai Airstrip' (after the adjacent plantation), became a key strategic objective for Allied forces. In March 1944, it was captured by the US 1st Marine Division during the Battle of Talasea. Its capture was crucial for establishing Allied air power on the Talasea peninsula to support further operations. After the war, it served as a vital local transport link for government administrators, Christian missions, and commercial plantations in the area, handling small general aviation and charter aircraft (e.g., Cessnas, Britten-Norman Islanders) before the regional road network was improved and Hoskins Airport became the dominant air hub.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the old Talasea Airstrip. The aviation needs of the Talasea region and the entire West New Britain Province are comprehensively served by Hoskins Airport (HKN), which receives regular scheduled commercial flights from national carriers like Air Niugini and PNG Air. Given the full operational capacity of Hoskins, there is no economic or logistical justification to restore this small, long-abandoned airstrip.
Not to be confused with the modern Talasea Airport to the north, this is the site of two crashed WWII planes (a B-25 Mitchell and a Lockheed Ventura) still clearly visible in 2021.