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 a commercial U.S. airline, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. It is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the island state of Hawaii, and the tenth largest commercial airline in the United States by passengers carried.
Owen Roberts International Airport is an airport serving Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is the main international airport for the Cayman Islands as well as the main base for Cayman Airways. The airport is named after British Royal Air Force (RAF) Wing Commander Owen Roberts, a pioneer of commercial aviation in the country, and is one of the two entrance ports to the Cayman Islands.
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 a regional 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.
John Adams Kiʻiapalaoku Kuakini (1789–1844) was an important adviser to Kamehameha I in the early stages of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was responsible for contributing to the infrastructure among other changes in the Kona District during this era.
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 a commercial airport serving Fort Worth, Texas, from 1953 until 1974. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) 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.
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. The land is leased from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The airport is owned and operated by Inyo County.
Mokulele Airlines is a regional airline operating in Hawaii. The airline operates scheduled inter-island and charter flights, primarily between smaller airports and its hubs at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. The airline was acquired by Southern Airways Express in 2019 but continues to operate under its own brand. Both Southern Airways and Mokulele Airlines are subsidiaries of Surf Air Mobility, which purchased Southern in 2023.
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.
