Honiara International Airport, formerly known as Henderson Field, is an airport located on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands. It is the only international airport in the Solomon Islands and is located 8km from the capital Honiara.HistoryIn 1942 the airfield was under construction by the Imperial Japanese Navy when captured by American forces, who went on to complete it. Control of the airstrip was the focus of months of fighting in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II.Henderson Field was named for Marine Major Lofton Henderson, commanding officer of VMSB-241 who was the first Marine aviator killed in action at the Battle of Midway while leading his squadron in an attack against Japanese carrier forces.The field was abandoned after the war, but reopened in 1969 as a modernized civilian airport. The airport is capable of accommodating Boeing 737s.