Gurney Airport


Gurney Airport is an airport serving Alotau in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.
The airport is a single runway general aviation facility. In December 2008, the PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, Don Polye announced that the aviation company SkyAirWorld had been granted permission to operate direct flights from Cairns, Australia to Gurney.

History

[file:Milne Bay 026629.jpg|thumb|An Australian Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun of the 2/9th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery at Milne Bay Gurney Airport No. 1 Airstrip]
[file:AWM 026647 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40 Milne.jpg|thumb|An Australian P-40 at Milne Bay]
Built by the US Army 96th Engineer General Service Regiment, Company E of 46th Engineer General Service Regiment and No. 6 Mobile Works Squadron RAAF during World War II. Named after Charles Raymond Gurney an Australian aviator. Consisting of two parallel runways with the first runway long by wide surfaced with bitumen and the second runway long x wide surfaced with marston matting. Taxiways and revetments extended off both sides of the runways. Known as Fall River Aerodrome and No. 1 Strip. The airfield was named Gurney Field on 14 September 1942 in honour of Royal Australian Air Force Squadron Leader C.R. Gurney, who was killed in an aircraft crash.
The airfield was reopened in early 1966, as a part of the Australian colonial policy of having each of the provincial capitals served by daily flights. The last Sunbird PBY service to Samarai was in January of that year. A number of other WWII airfields were reopened in the area, such as Vivigani Airfield and Misima. Several airlines then operated daily passenger and freight services into Gurney, using larger aircraft.

Allied units based at Gurney Field

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 09/27 with an asphalt surface measuring.