What Do You Know About Hawaii Airports
Did you know that Hawaii has 14 active civil aviation airports, 5 of which handle the bulk of the state’s inter-island and trans-Pacific traffic?
Which is the oldest of Hawaii’s airports, and why is Maui’s airport code OGG? Read on to find out more.
Hawaii’s first airport? That’s Honolulu International (HNL), which was originally called John Rodgers Airport. It opened in 1927 and was named in honor of the aviator and sailor. In 1925, Rodgers made the first trans-Pacific flight from California. When his plane ran out of fuel hundreds of miles from Hawaii, he crafted sails from the wings in order to complete the journey.
Maui’s Kahului Airport, was designated OGG in honor of aviation legend, and Kauai native, Bertram J. Hogg (which is pronounced Hoag).
Hilo Airport: Where did the code ITO come from? I’m not really sure. The obvious code for the Big Island airport would have been HIL, which was already taken in Ethiopia. It may have been named after an early manager at the airport for Hawaiian Air, whose name was of course, Ito.
Kona Airport (KOA) is built on recent lava flow and is the only major island airport that doesn’t use a jetway. When the airplane doors open you descend the stairs under a warm, Hawaii sky. KOA opened in 1970 although construction continued for another twenty years. Since then the population on the Westside of Big Island has increased 50 percent.
JHM. This airport code isn’t widely known, but represents Maui’s airport near Kapalua Resort. It replaced the prior Kaanapali Airport in 1987. The code is in honor of John H. Magoon, who was Hawaiian Airlines’ president when the company developed the airport.
LIH, Kauai’s airport in Lihue was not its first. That honor goes to Burns Field near Hanapepe’s Salt Pond Beach Park. Commercial flights by Hawaiian Airlines started there in 1929. A year later, runways at Burns Field were extended with use of prison labor which played a part in construction at other Hawaii airports as well.
Do you have any interesting facts you care to share about Hawaii’s rich history in civil aviation?
You can learn more about Hawaii’s airports on the State’s airport site.
Having earned my private pilot license from the old Hawaii Country Club of the Air, KOA branch, being a board member of the General Aviation Council of Hawaii, and working as an airport terminal planner for various firms contracted to HI DOT-AIR, I do know a fair bit about Hawaii airports, although that knowledge is somewhat dated now.
I’ve taken off and landed at every Hawaii airport except Princeville and Kaanapali/Kapalua, and the couple of private strips in the state. My fondest memories are of shooting touch and go’s at Ford Island, which was used as a practice reliever field for students flying out of HNL, and flying sailplanes at Dillingham.
I do know that Hawaii is the most General Aviation UNFRIENDLY state I have ever flown in (which is every state west of the Mississippi (except Alaska) and a few east as well. It is a shame that this state isn’t a supporter of GA, since it makes interisland transportation at a personal level much, much easier. When Owen Miyamoto was Director of AIr he wanted to ban General Aviation from HNL because ‘all those little airplanes create messes around the field and get in the way’ (loose paraphrase). When it was pointed out that he couldn’t ban them because of federal FAA dollars, he said ‘If I can’t kick them off the field, I can sure price them off!’, and he did, raising hangar and tie-down rents almost 400% in a single year.
I sorely miss the days when I could get in my own airplane and just GO! I won several bets that I could go from parking lot at KOA to the rental car kiosk in HNL faster in a light plane than my betting friends could in an airliner, so long as they followed the check-in time rules, and I followed the FAA regs. This was before all he T-hangars and tie-downs were torn down on the north ramp, and you could just walk over to the kiosk Diamond Head side of the main terminal parking garage.
Hawaii is a wonderful place in which to fly, and having the freedom to experience the beauty our islands from 3,000′ instead of 15,000′ is a rare joy. Alas, when we retired and came back home after 14 years on the mainland I left my current airplane behind to be sold, it’s just not viable to own a plane here by yourself unless money is NO object .. not my case unfortunately.
Hi George.
Thanks very much for your comment. Really interesting perspective. That also explains why we see so few private planes compared with other places.
Aloha.
Jeff
I used to work at the KOA Air Traffic Control Tower, which is a privately managed (non FAA) tower (whereas Hilo is FAA-operated). Did you know that the new tower on the north end of the runway should be operational by late Summer 2012?! As part of the 20-year master plan, you can expect MANY more changes/improvements to KOA in the years to come.