Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area (known locally as Old A) is a park built on the site of an old landing strip just north of Kailua, Hawaii County, Hawaii.
During World War II, a small landing strip was cleared near the end of Kuakini Highway. In 1947, the State of Hawaii approved a small passenger terminal and a 3,800 foot (1,200 m) runway to be built for tourist flights, which was operational in 1948 and dedicated in 1949. [1] In 1950, 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of fencing was added to keep out cattle which would wander onto the site. The 1960s brought development of several larger hotels and resorts in the Kailua-Kona area. During the early 1960s, Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines were operating nonstop flights to Kahului on Maui, nonstop and direct flights to Honolulu on Oahu and direct flights to Lihue on Kauai, Aloha with Fairchild F-27 turboprop aircraft and Hawaiian with "Super" Convair 340 prop aircraft. [2] [3] Larger aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 could not take off from the short runway; however, Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines were both operating jet service from the old airport during the late 1960s with flights to Honolulu, Kahului and Lihue, Aloha with the British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven and Hawaiian with the Douglas DC-9-10 with both airlines also operating turboprop aircraft as well at this same time, Aloha with the four engine Vickers Viscount and Hawaiian with the Convair 640. [4] [5] When the much larger Kona International Airport was built further north at Keahole Point in 1970, Aloha and Hawaiian moved their airline flights to this new airfield and the old landing strip was then used for drag racing before being turned into a state park in 1976. [6] The original airstrip was called Old Kona Airportpost facto.
The facilities on the 103.7 acres (42.0 ha) of the old airport are run by the County of Hawaiʻi. [7] These include baseball, soccer fields and a Skateboarding Park. the Kona Community Aquatic Center, and Kekuaokalani Gym, located at 75-5530 Kuakini Highway. [8] A 217-acre (88 ha) marine preserve was created off shore in 1992. A day use boat mooring is near the prominent "Shark Rock" toward the northwestern boundary. Water depth at the mooring is about 40 feet (12 m). [9] A reef shelf East of Shark rock creates a small surf break. Snorkellers and Scuba divers usually enter the water at a protected cove at the Northwestern end of the beach. On Kukaʻilimoku Point Southeast of the park sits a lighthouse to guide ships into Kailua Bay. North of the park is Papawai Bay (meaning "water layer" in the Hawaiian Language). [10] The land there is owned by the Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust, which also leases some of its property to two large shopping centers, the Kona Commons [11] which opened in 2008, and the Makalapua Center in 1994. [12]
The old 3,800-foot-long (1,200 m) runway now serves as an access road and large parking lot, and the old terminal building, located at 75 Kuakini Highway, is a public use pavilion. There is a flat walking trail parallel to the runway, restrooms, showers, and picnic facilities. There are some patches of sand, but the shore is rocky, so care should be taken when entering the water except in calm conditions. No lifeguards are on duty.
Lihue Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in the Līhuʻe CDP on the southeast coast of the island of Kauaʻi in Kauai County, Hawaiʻi, United States, two nautical miles east of the center of the CDP.
Hawaiian Airlines is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airline operates its main hub at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on the island of Oʻahu and a secondary hub out of Kahului Airport on the island of Maui. The airline also maintained a crew base at Los Angeles International Airport. Hawaiian Airlines operates flights to Asia, American Samoa, Australia, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the United States mainland. Hawaiian Airlines is owned by Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. of which Peter R. Ingram is the current president and chief executive officer.
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main and largest airport in Hawaii. The airport is named after Honolulu native and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012. The airport is in the Honolulu census-designated place 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Honolulu's central business district. The airport covers 4,220 acres, more than 1% of Oahu's land.
Aloha Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated passenger flights from 1946 until 2008. It was headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from its hub at Honolulu International Airport.
Kahului Airport is the main airport of Maui in the State of Hawaii, United States, located east of Kahului. It has offered full airport operations since 1952. Most flights into Kahului Airport originate from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu; the Honolulu–Kahului corridor is one of the heaviest-trafficked air routes in the US, ranking 13th in 2004 with 1,632,000 passengers.
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole is the primary airport on the Island of Hawaiʻi, located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States. The airport serves leeward (western) Hawaiʻi island, including the resorts in North Kona and South Kohala. It is one of two international airports serving Hawaiʻi island, the other being Hilo International Airport on the windward (eastern) side.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Hawaii:
Hana Airport is a regional public use airport of the State of Hawaiʻi on the east shore of the island of Maui, three nautical miles northwest of the unincorporated town of Hana. The airport was officially opened on November 11, 1950. It is primarily a commuter facility used by unscheduled air taxis and general aviation. As air traffic increases, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature will consider future improvements including the construction of a taxiway paralleling the runway, widening of access roads and expansion of passenger terminals and parking facilities.
Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, is an international airport located in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, United States. Owned and operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, the airport serves windward (eastern) Hawaiʻi island including the districts of Hilo, Hāmākua and Kaʻū, and Puna. It is one of two international airports serving Hawaiʻi island, the other being Kona International Airport on the leeward (western) side.
Waimea-Kohala Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile southwest of Waimea, an unincorporated town in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States.
Tyler Pounds Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located 3 mi (4.8 km) west of Tyler, in Smith County, Texas, United States.
Greater Southwest International Airport, originally Amon Carter Field (ACF), was the commercial airport serving Fort Worth, Texas, from 1953 until 1974. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport opened in 1974 a few miles north to replace Greater Southwest and Dallas Love Field as a single airport for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The area is now a commercial/light-industrial park serving DFW International, centered along Amon Carter Boulevard, which follows the old north-south runway.
Sir Captain Charles Kirkconnell International Airport is an airport serving Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands. It is one of the hubs for Cayman Airways with flights to Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman, and Edward Bodden Airfield on Little Cayman. It is the only airport on Cayman Brac.
Mahalo Air was an airline that provided inter-island service within the state of Hawaii between 1993 and 1997. The airline started service on October 4, 1993, using Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft operated by Empire Airlines while awaiting its own certification. On May 31, 1994, the agreement with Empire ran out, shutting down the airline. In October of that year, the airline resumed operations with its own certificate, using new ATR-42 turboprops. During the summer of 1997, the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and ceased operations on September 2. The airline was headquartered in Honolulu.
The Hawaiʻi Belt Road is a modern name for the Māmalahoa Highway and consists of Hawaiʻi state Routes 11, 19, and 190 that encircle the Island of Hawaiʻi. The southern section, between Hilo and Kailua-Kona is numbered as Route 11. The section between Hilo and Waimea is Route 19. Between Waimea and Kailua-Kona, the road is split in two: the original "mauka" route and a "makai" Route 19, completed in 1975, which serves as access to the Kona and Kohala Coast resorts. In the Hawaiian language, mauka means "towards the mountain" and makai means "towards the sea". These terms are commonly used in travel directions.
Go! was a regional brand of Arizona-based Mesa Airlines. Go! operated inter-island services within Hawaii. Its main base was Honolulu International Airport. It was a division within the Mesa Airlines subsidiary of Mesa Air Group and its flights were operated by Mesa Airlines. The airline ceased operations in Hawaii on April 1, 2014. The company slogan was Hawaii's Low Fare Airline.
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport is two miles east of Bishop, in Inyo County, California, United States. It is owned by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works and operated by Inyo County.
Mokulele Airlines is an American commuter airline operating in Hawaii. The airline operates scheduled inter-island and charter flights among all Hawaiian islands with airports. Mokulele Airlines was the first FAA Part 135 Scheduled Airline to have approved iPad "Flight bags" for its pilots. In 2019, it was acquired by Southern Airways Express, but it continues to operate as its own brand within the larger airline. In June 2020, Makanai Kai Air was also acquired by Southern, and its aircraft now fly in Mokulele livery.
Discovery Airways was an airline that provided inter-island service within the state of Hawaii in March 1990. It closed three months later in July 1990 after it was accused of violating a law that states that airlines in the United States must be controlled by American citizens.
Aeko Kula, LLC, DBA Aloha Air Cargo, is an all-cargo airline in the United States, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from a hub at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Formerly Aloha Airlines, it became an independent cargo operator following the closure of the passenger airline in 2008.
