Port Moresby Jacksons International Airport — Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby Jacksons International Airport, generally shortened to Jacksons Airport and coded POM, honors John Jackson, an Australian fighter pilot who commanded a squadron defending Port Moresby during World War II and was killed in action in 1942. As Papua New Guinea's principal international gateway, POM connects a country whose rugged interior terrain makes road travel between many regions impractical, so domestic aviation carries an outsized share of everyday travel compared with most nations. Air Niugini, the national carrier, bases much of its network here, linking the capital to dozens of remote highland and coastal airstrips alongside international routes to Australia, Asia, and the Pacific. Port Moresby itself sits on the Coral Sea coast, and the airport's surrounding hills and variable weather have historically made approaches challenging for pilots. Mining and resource-extraction traffic, tied to PNG's substantial gold, copper, and natural gas sectors, forms a steady component of overall passenger and cargo volume.