Maui, not unlike Kona and Lihue, and previously HNL, needs massive refurbishment to its main runway 2-20, among other things. It’s reported to have been refurbished five times since construction took place in 1942. But the last major work we know occurred nearly twenty years ago.
Pending runway construction has been on hold for years.
Five years ago, the state was preparing a Maui runway reconstruction project environmental impact report due to be released in 2020. At the time, the state estimated the new, multi-year runway project could cost up to 1/4 billion dollars. No dates were set for the project to commence. Work was to be paid for by airline fees and federal funding.
Band-Aid approach for Hawaii’s second largest airport.
Four years ago, the Hawaii DOT addressed a Taxiway intersection problem where there was “severe rutting, resulting in deflections and indentation of the asphalt pavement surface causing aircraft to get stuck. It required a mill and overlay repair every couple of months and was in urgent need of permanent repair.” That is according to Goodfellow Bros., the contractor who completed the interim repairs.
Then, in 2022, the state went to bid on a construction project to resurface 5,000 feet of Runway 2-20, “including milling, paving, crack sealing, and new markings.” We aren’t aware of any follow-up since.
In the meantime, the runway is maintained as safe by a series of constant resurfacing projects to address cracks, potholes, and ongoing joint deterioration. The concern is always that debris on the runway has the potential to damage aircraft. The state DOT and the FAA have said this project is a priority.
A massive $3 billion AIrport plan includes the reconstruction of the main runway (2-20).
The latest update on the OGG master plan, now seven years old, said, “The master plan update considered alternative development scenarios up to 2035 for upgrading and improving the airfield and terminal facilities and services for airport customers. The preferred runway alternative will reconstruct and extend Runway 2-20 from 7,000 ft. to 8,530 ft. A temporary runway parallel to Runway 2-20 will be constructed to allow continued airport service while Runway 2-20 is being reconstructed. There are no upgrades proposed for Runway 5-23. The terminal alternative will expand holdrooms to the south and increase capacity for users.”
Part of the issue may be that many residents opposed the runway lengthening on the grounds that it would require the closure of Haleakala Highway from Hana Highway to Keolani Place. At one point, the Maui Airport Manager suggested that the road be moved underground via a tunnel.
The projected cost for the runway reconstruction is $104.3 million.
When the reconstruction occurs, it could be ongoing for no less than four months, probably longer, with plans calling for using an apron taxiway as a temporary runway. The alternative would be runway closure, which isn’t feasible.
A new 7,000 ft parallel runway 2R-20L has been planned. That would also serve as an alternative should the main runway need to be remediated in the future. The project’s cost has been estimated at no less than 3/4 billion dollars and is expected to not occur for at least another ten years.
Recent developments at OGG.
Kahului Airport has struggled to deal with increased passenger traffic, prompting ongoing efforts by airlines and authorities to meet growing Maui travel demands. Upgrades and improvements, including the new consolidated car rental facility, plus holdroom and gate improvements, have been made by OGG with limited success in enhancing the overall travel experience. A new $62 million TSA facility has been funded and is expected to be implemented by 2025.
What’s your take on Maui Airport now and in the future?
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If you want the high dollar folks to return, you better start having some class and getting things done! The wealthy wont put up with lousy airports when paying top dollars. Make up your mind Govie Greene> Get your priorities straight and quit putting politics and greed ahead of the islands needs!
Maui is at a precipice. Kahului Harbor and OGG are the only real transport hubs we have, they can’t screw around with them. Without either, you get a trillion dollar problem all of a sudden.
Maui and Kona airports need 2 runways.
Kona airport needs to be enclosed with jet ways! Kona airport should be a major hub. Many improvements needed.
Hawaii should have an airport commission running things.
KOA is great being able to walk onto the ramp to board and de-plane. It’s how air travel used to be and with the excellent weather in Kona, it makes sense. I hope it stays the way it is
So much more than just tourists come to the islands by plane. Your airports are critical to everyone’s benefit. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
Now that there are less tourists coming in, I wonder where that project goes ….
OGG suits the purpose. You go to an airport to fly in or out. The airport is not the destination.
Aloha Rob+Jeff. My opinion is that the residents of Maui should be taken care of first. Housing for the fire victims and compensation for lost jobs. And rebuilding Lahaina. Then deal with the runway repaving. Visitors are going elsewhere,so no need to worry about the airport. Forget the car rental plan. It’s fine as is. Why do they have to engineer a whole master plan that cost billions of dollars? Cmon, let’s not overextend ourselves. I mean, who ends up paying this “remodel” anyway? Yup, citizens and visitors. No wonder people are going elsewhere. Why have they left this issue unsolved for So long? Mahalo as always.
Just like everything else in Maui or any of the islands. Put off much needed improvements until something bad happens thenpoint fingers as to who is responsible.
Well, they did add the new car rental facility. That was actually very well done.
However, the $330+Million for the rent-a-car monster was a wasted, huge expenditure that is now causing airport parking fees for local residents to rise at least 40% this month! The funds should have been used to upgrade Maui’s highways that all the car rentals clog up, plus pave runway 2-20.
That was self funded by the all the establishment car agencies over the span of saving for the last 30+ years and they paid for it, not the state or county. Which is why it was built in prep for the new runway systems. Which is why they succeed as a private business and not a government enterprise.
The more that you read about Hawaii’s airports across the state you truly have to be scratching your head as the HDOT leaders appear to be scratching another part of their anatomy while looking for where they might find their collective heads because using the word clueless does not even come close to how they are dealing with the ongoing airport issues. Hawaii and its citizens deserve a whole lot better than what they are getting.
Seems like with weight restrictions, or technical stops at HNL for fuel, Rwy 5-23 could serve as the primary runway while 2-20 is resurfaced.
Before there were 2 engine aircraft that got etops certification, trans Pacific flights always flew to HNL to fuel up so there’s nothing new about that but using that shorter runway for bigger jets could limit passengers too so it is not as simple as you imply.
It would seem the One-Party Political System that is Hawaii our 50th State, is failing both the residents and their economic engine greatly, from Hono to Lihue, to Kona to now Kahului, where do they put the Tourist Dollars in the $B’s generated, the Room Taxes that Governor Ige took from the Counties for the States General Fund? Governor Green, no play on words he, is stuck on hitting every U.S. Citizen Tourist with a $50 Green Pass, wonder if the same for a Japan, China, Australia and Canada?
It is scary to think that just like the fires in Lahaina not much will be done about this problem until there is a devastating accident. Maui, if you are going to have an airport, you need to maintain it. Maybe the visitor fee?
Aloha,
Yep, the “visitor fee” is the key here. I think a couple of hundred dollars per head ought to do it.
Mahalo