Guiuan Airport is an airport located in the municipality of Guiuan

Guiuan, Eastern Samar

Guiuan is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. As of year 2004, it has a population of 43,647 people in 7,618 households....

, in the province of Eastern Samar

Eastern Samar

Eastern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan.-Location:...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. It is classified as a feeder airport by the Air Transportation Office, a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications

Department of Transportation and Communications (Philippines)

The Department of Transportation and Communications is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the maintenance and expansion of viable, efficient, and dependable transportation and communications systems as effective instruments for national recovery and economic...

 that is responsible for the operations of not only this airport but also of all other airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.

Presently, the government is planning to develop the airport to support the commercial and tourism industry in the region, most especially Calicoan Island

Calicoan Island

Calicoan Island is a Philippine island, and is part of the town of Guiuan, in the province of Eastern Samar. It lies east of Leyte Gulf, off the southeast point of Samar.The island can be reached from Tacloban City by a two-hour bus ride.-External links:*...

, an upcoming island resort for surfers and beachcombers.

The IATA airport code

IATA airport code

An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...

 SAA also refers to Shively Field

Shively Field

Shively Field is a public airport located one mile southwest of the central business district of Saratoga, a town in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. It is owned by the Town of Saratoga.- Facilities and aircraft :...

 in Saratoga, Wyoming

Saratoga, Wyoming

Saratoga is a town in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,736 at the 2000 census.Saratoga is the home of the Steinley Cup microbrew competition, usually held in August at Veterans Island Park, a playground and picnic facility located on a small island in the North Platte...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

Guiuan Airport was originally a United States Navy air base in World War II.

After forces led by General Douglas Macarthur landed on Leyte on October 20, 1944, the first step towards the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation, work began on improving or constructing several airfields around the area.

The US Navy initially attempted to construct a strip on the Samar shore of San Pablo Bay. It was soon found to be unusable after heavy rain, so the project was abandoned. After a brief search, Navy engineers settled on Guiuan, a town on the southeast promontory of Samar. Work was conducted by the 93rd Seabees and the first plane landed on December 18, 1944. US Navy and US Army Air Force aircraft were operating on the field by Christmas 1944.

After the war, the airfield was turned over to the Philippine government.

The Guiuan airfield originally had two runways, but only one remains operational today.