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Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

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View of Honolulu from an airplane departing from Honolulu International Airport

Honolulu International Airport (IATA: HNL, ICAO: PHNL) is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii and is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States.

Opened in March 1927 as John Rodgers Airport, Honolulu International Airport is the principal hub of Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines, the two largest Hawaii-based airlines. Both airlines offer flights between the various airports of the Hawaiian Islands and also serve the continental United States. Honolulu International Airport is host to major United States and international flagship commercial carriers with direct routes to American, Asian, and Pacific Rim destinations.

Due to its proximity to the center of the Pacific Ocean, Honolulu has historically been a stop for many transpacific flights to and from North America. With the advent of ultra-long range aircraft, however, nearly all flights are now able to overfly Honolulu - the notable exception being flights between Australia and Canada. As such, the airport has seen a notable decrease in international passenger traffic over the years. Now that virtually all airline service to Honolulu is based on demand, there are far fewer flights to Australia, the South Pacific or southeast Asia today than 15 or 20 years ago. Almost all flights now go to Japan or the continental United States. However, Honolulu has continued to see major growth in the domestic market as major airlines have added frequencies and even non-stop links to large, yet previously unserved markets such as Phoenix, Denver and Cincinnati.

Authority

Honolulu International Airport is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawaiʻi. The official authority of Honolulu International Airport is the Governor of Hawaiʻi. He or she appoints the Director of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Transportation who has jurisdiction over the Hawaiʻi Airports Administrator.

The Hawaiʻi Airports Administrator oversees six governing bodies: Airports Operations Office, Airports Planning Office, Engineering Branch, Information Technology Office, Staff Services Office, Visitor Information Program Office. Collectively, the six bodies have authority over the four airport districts in Hawaiʻi: Hawaiʻi District, Kauaʻi District, Maui District and the principal Oʻahu District. Honolulu International Airport is a subordinate of the Oʻahu District officials.

Facilities

Runways

The Reef Runway

Honolulu International Airport has four major runways. The principal runway designated 8R/26L, also known as the Reef Runway, is the world's first major runway constructed entirely offshore. Completed in 1977, the Reef Runway is a designated alternate landing site for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration space shuttle program in association with Hickam Air Force Base, which shares Honolulu International Airport's airfield operations.

In addition to the four paved runways, Honolulu International Airport has two designated offshore runways designated 8W/26W and 4W/22W for use by seaplanes.

Terminal buildings

Honolulu International Airport has three terminal buildings.

  • The Commuter Terminal serves smaller airlines which operate flights between the smaller airports in the island chain.
  • The Interisland Terminal mainly serves the interisland flights of Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines. It is designed to handle flights of jet aircraft between the major commercial airports in the Hawaiian Islands, and is also used by Aloha for flights to the west coast of the United States.
  • The Main Overseas Terminal serves flights to and from the United States mainland and international destinations.

A fleet of Chance RT-52 buses provide interterminal transportation between the ticket counters of all three terminals and between the concourses in the Interisland and Main terminals. The buses, known as "Wiki Wiki" buses (from the Hawaiian word for "fast"), are the namesake for the WikiWikiWeb, and by extension, Wikipedia.

Gate Assignments

All boarding gates in the Main Overseas Terminal at Honolulu International are common use, shared among all airlines, and may change daily as the need arises. No gates are assigned to any airline, although several legacy US-based and/or dominant carriers that fly into and out of HNL commonly use the following gates:

Main Overseas Terminal[1]

  • American (Gates 16-20)
  • ATA (Gates 14-23)
  • Continental Domestic and International (Gates 12-16, 23-25)
  • Delta (Gates 20-23)
  • Hawaiian Domestic and International (Gates 23-34)
  • Northwest Domestic and International (Gates 10-17)
  • United Domestic and International (Gates 6-11)

Most international flights on airlines not listed above arrive and depart from the Ewa Concourse (Gates 26-34), which is closest to the International Arrivals Building. On February 5, 2007, the Hawaii State Department of Transportation announced a plan to construct a $10 million enclosed people-mover system to connect the third floor of the Ewa Concourse directly to the International Arrivals Building and the rest of the airport. Construction is to begin during Summer 2007 and last approximately 18 months.[2]

Interisland Terminal

  • Aloha (Gates 49-55)
  • Hawaiian Interisland (Gates 55-61)[3]

Commuter Terminal

  • go! (Gates 71-74)[4]

Other

The entire terminal complex features twenty-four hour medical services, restaurants, shopping centers and a business center with conference rooms for private use. Passengers have the option of using various short-term and long-term parking structures on the grounds of Honolulu International Airport.

Main roads leading to the Honolulu International Airport are Nimitz Highway and the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway of Interstate H-1.

Future plans

File:HNL Modernization.PNG
The new terminal expansions (red) on Honolulu International Airport depicted as part of the $2.3 billion modernization program of the airport in 12 years.

On March 24, 2006, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle unveiled a $2.3 billion modernization program for Honolulu International Airport over a 12-year period. The plan involves implementing short-term projects within the first five years to improve passenger service and increase security and operational efficiencies. These include upgrades to the passenger terminals, ticket counters, baggage screening operations, runways and airport aprons, airport infrastructure such as air conditioning, restroom facilities, elevators, escalators, electrical systems, drains and sprinkler systems.

In addition, the plan incorporates improvements to comply with federal regulations on storm water systems, runway safety, perimeter security and crash fire safety. Long-term improvement projects include increasing the airports’ capacity and enhancing convenience and efficiency. These projects include constructing additional gates, ramp space and passenger loading bridges, increasing holding room capacity, and expanding public parking facilities.

Airlines

Commuter Terminal (Gates 71-80)

Lobby 1

Interisland Terminal (Gates 49-64)

Lobby 2

  • Hawaiian Airlines (Anchorage, Hilo, Kahului, Kona, Las Vegas, Lihue, Los Angeles, Pago Pago, Papeete, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Sydney)[5]

Lobby 3

Main Terminal (Gates 6-34)

Lobby 4

Lobby 5

  • Japan Airlines (Osaka-Kansai, Sapporo-Chitose, Tokyo-Narita)
    • JALways (Nagoya-Centrair, Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita)

Lobby 6

Lobby 7

Lobby 8

  • United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, Osaka-Kansai, San Diego [Saturday Only], San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma [Saturday Only], Tokyo-Narita)

Disasters

There have been four major air traffic incidents that caused air traffic controllers and federal emergency officials at Honolulu International Airport to be placed on emergency alert. All four were disasters that resulted in fatalities, and one involved a global terrorist plot that some arguably consider a precursor to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Pan Am, 1982

Main article: Pan Am Flight 830

On August 11, 1982, a bomb exploded aboard Pan American World Airways Flight 830, as it was preparing to approach Honolulu International Airport from Tokyo, Japan. One teenager was killed and 15 others were injured. The aircraft, however was not disintegrated and made a safe emergency landing in Honolulu.

Aloha Airlines, 1988

File:Alohaairlinesdisaster.jpg
Aloha Airlines Flight 243 after landing at Kahului Airport, 1988.
Main article: Aloha Airlines Flight 243

On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243, flying from Hilo to Honolulu International Airport experienced a rapid decompression. An 18 feet (5 m) section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the airplane, due to metal fatigue. Out of the 89 passengers and 6 crew members, the only fatality was a flight attendant blown out of the airplane. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries. The aircraft diverted to Kahului Airport with slight difficulty.

United Airlines, 1989

File:Unitedairlinesdisasterhonolulu.jpg
United Airlines Flight 811, the day after it made an emergency landing in Honolulu, 1989.
Main article: United Airlines Flight 811

On February 24, 1989, United Airlines Flight 811, a Boeing 747 carrying 3 flight crew, 15 cabin crew and 337 passengers from Los Angeles, California to Sydney, Australia, stopping in Auckland, New Zealand and Honolulu suffered explosive decompression when a cargo door separated from the aircraft after takeoff from the Reef Runway. Nine passengers were swept from the aircraft and lost at sea. The plane returned to Honolulu.

Operation Bojinka, 1995

Main article: Oplan Bojinka

In 1995, United States and Philippines intelligence authorities discovered an al-Qaeda terrorism plot called "Operation Bojinka" after a fire on an American carrier at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. Related to an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, the first phase of Operation Bojinka included the planned explosion of several American carriers over the Pacific Ocean upon takeoff from or en route to Honolulu International Airport on January 21 of that year.

References

Notes

  1. ^ FlyerTalk website.
  2. ^ Leidemann, Mike (2007-02-04). "Airport to get cooler, easier with walkway". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Hawaiian Airlines website
  4. ^ go! website
  5. ^ Mainland and international gates for Hawaiian Airlines are located in the Main Overseas terminal, but ticket counters for all Hawaiian flights are located in the Interisland terminal.
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