Jarvis Island, UM 🇺🇲 Closed Airport
UM-0004
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10 ft
UM-86
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: -0.36633° N, -159.9913° E
Continent: OC
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: PLUR PLUR
Jarvis Island is an uninhabited U.S. National Wildlife Refuge and is not open to the general public. Access to the island, including what might be referred to as "Jarvis Island Airport (UM-0004)," is heavily restricted and requires a special-use permit typically granted only to scientists and educators. The island is primarily accessible by ship, though a runway of 1,665 meters exists. Due to these severe restrictions and its status as a wildlife refuge, there are no conventional traveler reviews or experiences at Jarvis Island Airport (UM-0004) as it does not operate as a commercial or public airport.
Overall Traveler Sentiment and Satisfaction: As public entry is not permitted, there is no traveler sentiment or satisfaction to report in the typical sense. Individuals who visit, such as scientists and researchers, do so under specific permits and for research purposes, not as leisure travelers.
Terminal Facilities, Amenities, and Cleanliness: There are no public terminal facilities, amenities, or cleanliness standards to review. The island lacks public accommodations.
Security Wait Times and Customs/Immigration Experience: Given the highly restricted access, there are no public security wait times or customs/immigration experiences for general travelers. Entry is managed through a special permit process by entities like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Transportation Connections and Parking: Transportation to Jarvis Island is almost exclusively by ship. While a runway exists, it does not serve commercial flights, and there are no public transportation connections or parking facilities available.
Notable Strengths or Common Complaints: There are no notable strengths or common complaints from a traveler's perspective as it is not a public travel destination.
Overall Summary: Jarvis Island (UM-0004) is a strictly protected wildlife refuge with no public airport or facilities for general travelers. Therefore, information regarding traveler reviews, amenities, security, or transportation connections is non-existent for this location in the context of public travel.
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Approximately February 1942
The airfield was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific. The civilian settlement on Jarvis Island, known as Millersville, was shelled by a Japanese submarine on December 7, 1941. The island was deemed too remote and vulnerable to defend. Consequently, the U.S. evacuated the civilian colonists in February 1942, and the military abandoned the outpost and its landing strip.
The site is now part of the Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The island is uninhabited, and access is strictly controlled by permit for scientific and conservation purposes. The former runway is completely unusable, heavily overgrown with vegetation, and eroded by time and weather. The faint outline of the strip and the ruins of the Millersville settlement are still visible on satellite imagery and are treated as historical archaeological sites.
The airfield, often referred to as Millersville Field, was a crucial part of the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project from 1935 to 1942. It was constructed by American colonists, primarily young men of Hawaiian descent known as the Hui Panalāʻau. Its primary purpose was to solidify U.S. sovereignty over the island and to serve as a potential emergency landing and refueling stop for the nascent trans-Pacific commercial and military air routes. The compacted coral and sand runway was used for observation and patrol aircraft by the U.S. military in the period just before and at the very beginning of U.S. involvement in WWII.
There are no plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The island's status as a protected National Wildlife Refuge and its inclusion in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument make any form of development, especially an airport, extremely unlikely. The strategic importance of such a remote airfield has been superseded by modern long-range aircraft, making its reactivation economically and logistically unfeasible. Its primary value is now ecological and historical.