Boeing warns of impact if Midway Atoll loses ETOPS status

By Andrew Curran.

Boeing has weighed into the debate about the importance of Midway Atoll Airport (MDY) for trans-Pacific aviation operations. The aircraft manufacturer joins a wave of airlines and other interested parties who say ending the airfield’s role as an ETOPS alternate airport is unwise.

Midway is a Part 139-certificated airport in the North Pacific Ocean. It serves a specific aviation need, primarily for trans-Pacific ETOPS flight planning for both military and commercial aircraft operations.

However, maintaining Midway as an ETOPS alternate airport will cost over USD100 million and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is pondering whether it is worth it.

But before any decision is made, the FAA says it wants to “better understand the potential impacts if Midway were no longer available as an ETOPS alternate airport”.

Responses support keeping Midway Atoll open

The overwhelming response supports keeping Midway open. Boeing is the latest interested party to respond to the FAA’s request for comment.

“Midway airfield serves as a critical diversion airport in transpacific commercial and cargo air travel,” Boeing said in a September 4, 2026, letter to the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The aircraft manufacturer says there would be a “hole in ETOPS diversion coverage” if Midway was no longer available as an alternate airport, particularly impacting flights between Japan, Korea and Hawaii.

“Boeing estimates there to be approximately 3,400–3,600 flights per year of commercial passenger traffic each way for the Honolulu to Tokyo routes alone,” the letter adds.

The FAA’s hesitation to open its cheque book and spend the necessary money to bring Midway up to scratch is because very few aircraft are required to land there.

The agency says that between 2003 and 2021, there were only eleven commercial and military aircraft diversions to Midway. But those aircraft included a Hawaiian Airlines A330 and a United Airlines B787-9 filled with passengers.

The FAA flags potential alternatives to Midway Atoll

The FAA says it is aware of Midway’s importantance in flight planning, acknowledging that it is currently used in flight planning for tens of thousands of passenger, cargo, and military trans-Pacific flights every year.

But it says there are also other ETOPS alternate airports in the region that could substitute for Midway, including Wake Island Airfield (AWK), Eareckson Air Station (SYA) and Majuro (MAJ).

However, Boeing argues that losing Midway, combined with the closure of other ETOPS alternate airports for reasons such as weather or maintenance, “would effectively shut down all traffic in the North Pacific routes”.

Airlines also favour retaining Midway Atoll ETOPS status

Boeing isn’t alone in its call to keep Midway Atoll open. WestJet is among many airlines that strongly support spending the money to upgrade the airport.

“WestJet regularly relies on Midway Atoll (MDY) regularly as an ETOPS alternate for its 180-minute ETOPS operations between Calgary (YYC) and Tokyo (NRT) and Seoul (ICN),” WestJet's filing reads. “Between fall 2024 and year-to-date 2026, MDY was used a total of 725 times.”

US-based National Airlines said that “maintaining Midway protects flight crews, cargo operations, customers, and the broader public interest”.

Seoul-based Air Premia said Midway was “critically important” to its transpacific operations.

“Wake Island viable only for the Hawaii routing and is not a practical substitute for mainland routes (SFO/LAX/IAD/EWR). Eareckson (SYA) and Cold Bay (CDB) individually cannot replicate the flexibility Midway provides,” its response to the FAA reads.

The deadline for submissions to the FAA has passed. At the time of publication, 31 responses have been posted on the US Department of Transportation’s website. The responses universally favour keeping Midway available as an ETOPS alternate airport.

Photo: Jon Bracks via US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com