Kona’s only runway cracked open again on Thursday morning, grounding every flight scheduled from 7 am until 2 pm and reminding travelers across Hawaii how fragile the islands’ air lifelines have become. The Hawaii Department of Transportation stated that repairs were underway and that the strip would reopen later that day; however, by then, planeloads of passengers were already waiting under the open-air terminal’s corrugated roof with little information and few updates.
This is the third shutdown in two years, and the script seems never to change. HDOT blames wear, weather, and the lava flow beneath the tarmac. Travelers face delays, diversions, and another round of apologies.
The truth is that Hawaii’s airport problems extend far beyond Kona. Across the islands, aging infrastructure and slow-moving repair programs are testing the patience of visitors and residents alike.
A one-runway design that leaves no margin.
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport was carved into volcanic rock, which looks dramatic when approaching from the air but creates long-term maintenance nightmares. With just one runway, every crack has the potential to become a full-blown shutdown. There is no alternate strip, no backup taxiway, no way to keep flights moving when repairs begin.
We have been tracking this for years at Beat of Hawaii. From Maui to Lihue, the same pattern repeats: airports built for the 1970s patched with 2020s traffic in mind. It is not just about one closure; it is about an entire system running at the edge of failure.
Hawaii’s airports are always playing catchup.
Kona’s closure on Thursday mirrors the same vulnerabilities we have seen elsewhere. Maui’s Kahului Airport underwent months of intermittent taxiway closures due to pavement fatigue, while Hilo’s runway lighting system necessitated a multi-month replacement project to upgrade its aging infrastructure. Even Lihue, which received federal funding for major runway work, is still in the midst of a multi-year relocation project scheduled to run through 2026.
Each island airport now functions like an old car held together with duct tape. It still gets you where you need to go until it does not.
Tens of millions in funding, slow progress.
In August 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded $64.7 million to rehabilitate Kona’s runway, part of two federal grants under the Airport Infrastructure and Airport Improvement programs. The project was slated to include crack repairs and full resurfacing, with completion targeted for spring 2026. Yet even with nearly seventy million dollars on the table, travelers are still facing runway closures and delays including today’s.
Officials cite supply issues and the challenge of closing an airport that lacks a backup runway. The deeper truth is more uncomfortable. Even when Hawaii receives funding, execution often stalls due to bureaucratic delays. Projects launch with press conferences and stall once the cameras have left.
The real reason it keeps happening.
Officials blame lava flows and salt air. The real problem is that Hawaii treats billion-dollar infrastructure like a rental car: run it until it breaks, then patch it. Preventive maintenance is rare, and accountability is even rarer. As we reported in Major upgrades at Hawaii airports finally moving forward, big-ticket projects often sit in planning limbo for years while costs balloon.
The result is predictable. Cracks become closures, closures become headlines, and travelers lose faith that Hawaii can keep its front doors open.
The traveler impact.
Even short closures like Thursday’s at Kona ripple statewide. Interisland connections are missed, long-haul flights from the mainland back up, and ground operations struggle to reset. With Kona’s outdoor terminals, waiting can become a test of endurance.
Residents pay their own price. Cargo planes use the same runway that brings tourists, and when it closes, shipments of food, medicine, and mail pause too. In a state that relies on air links for nearly everything, even a small crack hits home fast.
What this reveals about Hawaii’s priorities.
Thursday’s closure is another reminder that Hawaii’s infrastructure is reactive rather than proactive. The focus remains on marketing and managing tourism, not maintaining what keeps it running. Travelers see glossy resort towers, but overlook the cracks underfoot that reveal the entire system’s flaws.
Airports are Hawaii’s front door. When a runway buckles or the lights fail, it damages more than schedules; it damages trust. As we noted in Hawaii Visitors Love The Islands But Hate What Travel Here Has Become, visitors are already facing rising fees, staffing shortages, and policy confusion. Add runway failures, and confidence gets tested.
What comes next?
For now, passengers can only check alerts, hope for smoother operations, and wait. But Hawaii’s residents and frequent visitors may want to do more than vent. Inform HDOT, your state representative, or your county council member that these breakdowns are unacceptable. Infrastructure deserves the same urgency as tourism promotion, because when the runway cracks, the entire island economy does too.
Have you ever been stuck in Kona or another Hawaiian airport due to a runway or maintenance issue? What happened, and how do you think the state should fix it?
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Neglect and a laissez faire attitude toward general maintenance. That is the perfect way to describe the management approach to most of the infrastructure on the islands both public and private. It’s “ island time” applied across all aspects of life, not just punctuality.
I work for one of the largest if not the largest employers on the Big Island The facility I work in is literally crumbling down around us with signs of band-aid patchwork everywhere. No problem is addressed until it becomes a nuisance or interferes with operations. Foresight is nonexistent. It is third world mentality in a first world reality.
This is my second trip to the islands. First we flew to Kaui several years ago. Amazing trip!! Loved it. This year 2025 we decided due to reservations delays from our end to go to Big Island. I had bad feeling about this trip but i “Let God, let go”. We heard announcements about Kina shutdown and rerouted to Honolulu… to my shocking surprise it was due to earthquake. I looked into it and there had been several earthquakes!! Just this week alone!! Why was this not mentioned to tourists?
This is very concerning, especially for the elderly who live in Hawaii. They frequently need to travel to another island for medical care.
What’s with the beach erosion in Kaanapali? What about a seawall to prevent loss? It’s nice having g the green grass down to the Sandy beach, but we’re talking about the Pacific Ocean lapping up at your doorstep!
The real problem is the inept or corrupt government there. They keep getting voted back into office therefor the same problems continue to exits,
Blame one party rule for the last 60+ years.
DOT-A is a well known hive of graft, mismanagement and criminal activity.
There is a mindset in Hawaii.
Get hired by the government, take it easy, no accountability.
A landscaper told me his dream job was to quit working for a private company and work for the “Sitting and Counting”
Was this pavement crack predicted? Routine maintenance would not address something of this magnitude. ! Routine maintenance might identify something which could be happening, but not funded to conduct such a repair.
Things in life will happen & occur for which no amount of routine maintenance can predict. We all must adjust to these events, study them to see if possibly something preventative in the future can be done. Then, something different will happen. It. is life & we must adjust!
I would tell you all that is going to happen & when, however, my crystal ball is presently in the shop for repair!
I’ve been flying to Maui (Lihui airport) for many years and have never had a problem. Let’s appreciate the aloha of Hawaii and not focus on the problems so much.
Maui’s airport is Kahului, Kauai’s is Lihue.
There are many problems with Hawaii’s airports and general infrastructure and they should be discussed. The Feds should get over here and crack heads. Hawaii is an island chain miles out in the Pacific. Airports are vital for residents and visitors.
The legislature has proven to be useless in the welfare of airport passengers.
It is so unbelievable that Kona does not have a second runway. Auwe!
Hawaii Government doesn’t know or care about maintenance. Run things until they fail, airports, schools, most buildings. Then it cost more to fix them.
Where’s the money that was for Kona’s runway? Did DOT spend it somewhere else?
Kona was to have 2 runways but the DOT cut the second one when the construction was being done.
We need a second runway now. All planes, airlines, private, shippers, military, use our airport. We need the second runway. Should be the same length also.
Best to get DOT out of the airport business all together and have an experienced board run it. DOT is so arrogant!
“Preventive maintenance is rare, and accountability is even rarer”.
This is Hawaiʻi in a nutshell. It pervades all public works projects. Waste treatment plants, beach bathrooms, sidewalks, road repair. This is what happens when those in charge lack the ability to plan ahead, budget properly, or the technical expertise. I can only imagine whatʻs going to become of the outrageously costly railway to nowhere once routine maintenance is ignored.