Ballalae Airport guide

Balalae Airport occupies a coral island in the Shortland Islands, in the far northwest of Western Province, just south of Bougainville. The island has no roads, so passengers reach nearby communities by outboard dinghy from the airstrip.

Prisoners of war, mostly British soldiers captured at the fall of Singapore, built the airstrip under Japanese command during the Second World War. It was meant to cover the Japanese base at Rabaul, and it was the destination of the aircraft carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto when it was shot down over Bougainville in April 1943.

The strip is a single sand and coral runway about 1.75 kilometres long, set roughly 1.5 metres above sea level and bordered by forest. It takes STOL aircraft such as the Twin Otter. Solomon Airlines flies the route from Honiara via Gizo, and the trip takes about two and a half hours. There is no fuel or lighting. The station building is a small open shelter with bench seating and a small customs area.