In the early days of aviation in Hawaii, Upolu Airport was an airstrip known as Suiter Field,  The U.S. Signal Corps maintained a communication station there.  Inter-Island Airways, which began passenger service in 1929, used the field as an emergency stop on its route to Hilo, as well as to provide air service to the district of Kohala.

Suiter Field was maintained by the Territory of Hawaii with FERA and WPA funds prior to 1937.  From 1937 to 1939, additional WPA funds were expended in extending the runway to 3,500 feet and in making other improvements to the installation.

During World War II, the Navy occupied Upolu Airport establishing a weather and communication station there.  The facility was used as an auxiliary field to the Naval Air Station, Hilo, for field-carrier-landing practice and other training of carrier pilots.  The runway was extended to 4,000-feet and housing provided by the Navy for military personnel operating the airport.

Upolu Airport was returned to the Territory by the Navy after the war, and air service was provided by scheduled and non-scheduled operators.  Buildings formerly occupied by the Navy were rehabilitated for use as a terminal and for other purposes.

In 1950, the Civil Aeronautics Administration installed a VOR beacon near the field.  The Hawaii Aeronautics Commission installed temporary runway lights in June 1950 and constructed a rotating beacon which was placed in operation on June 26, 1950.

The Upolu airfield always represented a problem in maintenance as the subsurface drainage was inadequate, causing the run-off from the slopes above to be trapped in the clay foundation.  This condition continually caused settling and breaking up of the runway surface.

In December 1950, the Commission undertook extensive repairs to the airport to put it in safe operating condition.

In 1955, Upolu Airport had a land area of 95 acres.  It had one runway, 7-25, which was 150-feet wide and 4,000-feet long.  The airport was served on a scheduled basis by Hawaiian Airlines, Ltd., and Trans-Pacific Airlines, Ltd., as well as non-scheduled carriers.  The airport consisted of a Passenger Terminal Building, runwway, wind cone, runway lights, rotating beacon, VOR station, and Crash-Fire protection.