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Airport Kona (USA) - International
| Kona International Airport at Kehole | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: KOA ICAO: PHKO | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Hawaii Department of Transportation | ||
| Serves | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii | ||
| Location | Kalaoa, Hawaii | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 47 ft / 14 m | ||
| Coordinates | 19°4420N 156°0244W / 19.73889°N 156.04556°WCoordinates: 19°4420N 156°0244W / 19.73889°N 156.04556°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 17/35 | 11,000 | 3,353 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (ending 05/31/2007) | |||
| Operations | 150,624 | ||
| Based aircraft | 59 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Kona International Airport at Kehole (IATA: KOA, ICAO: PHKO) is an airport on the Island of Hawaii, in Kalaoa CDP, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States.[2] The airport serves leeward, or Western Hawaii island, including the town of Kailua-Kona and the major resorts of the North Kona and South Kohala districts.
Contents |
Facilities
The state government of Hawaii facility operates an 11,000 ft (3,353 m) runway and a terminal complex of single story buildings along the eastern edge of the airfield for arriving and departing passengers, air cargo and mail, airport support, and general aviation operations.[1]
Kona International is the only remaining major airport in the Hawaiian Islands where a mobile ramp is used to plane and deplane passengers. Kona International sees daily 717, 737, 757, 767, and 777 aircraft, as well as smaller inter-island aircraft, and general private aviation. The airport terminal is a rambling, open-air set of structures. Long after other airports in Hawaii converted their terminals to multi-story buildings with automated jetway systems, Hawaiian Airlines could still utilize their DC-9 fleet's tailcone exits at Kailua-Kona.
An environmental impact statement was prepared in 2005 to add a second runway. The United States Air Force investigated building a second 3,950 ft (1,200 m) runway in 2009. This would be used for practicing landing C-17 military cargo planes on a short runway.[3] Although the 11,000 ft (3,353 m) runway allows flights to Japan and Chicago, it is the only major airport in Hawaii with only one.
Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center
A small museum, the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center,[4] is located between the passenger terminals at the airport. It is named in honor of Kona-born Ellison Onizuka who died in 1986 on the Space Shuttle Challenger. The displays include a sample of lunar soil, a space suit from Apollo 13, and personal items from Ellison Onizuka. An admission fee is charged.[5]
History
Much of the airport runway is built on a relatively recent lava flow: the 1801 Huehue flow from Huallai. This flow extended the shoreline out an estimated 1 mi (1.6 km), adding some 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) of land to the island[6] and creating Kehole Point. The airport was moved to this location and dedicated on July 1, 1970, when the previous smaller airstrip was converted into the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area.
Construction crews from Bechtel Corportation had used three million pounds of dynamite to flatten the lava flow (which was riddled with Lava tubes) within 13-months.
In its first full year, 515,378 passengers passed through the new open-air tropical-style terminals. The aquaculture ponds and solar energy experiments at the nearby Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) can be seen during landing and take-off.
It was originally known as Ke-hole Airport, since the hole fish (Kuhlia sandvicensis) was found nearby.[7]
The main runway was extended in 1993 to make it the largest in the Hawaiian Islands outside of Honolulu, when it was renamed Kehole-Kona International Airport.[8]
In 1997 it officially became known as the Kona International Airport at Kehole.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Canada | Vancouver [seasonal] |
| Alaska Airlines | Oakland, San Jose (CA) [begins March 12][9], Seattle/Tacoma |
| American Airlines | Los Angeles |
| Delta Air Lines | Los Angeles |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Honolulu, Kahului |
| Island Air | Kahului |
| Japan Airlines operated by JALways | Tokyo-Narita |
| Kona Shuttle operated by Miami Air International | Oakland |
| go! Mokulele operated by Mesa Airlines | Honolulu |
| Mokulele Airlines | Kahului |
| United Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver [seasonal], Los Angeles, San Francisco |
| US Airways | Phoenix |
| WestJet | Vancouver [seasonal] |
Accidents and incidents
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009) |
- On August 25, 1977, an Air Cargo Hawaii twin-engine turbo-prop Short SC.7 Skyvan crashed and burned while attempting to land at Keahole Airport. The pilot and passenger were killed. The crash occurred about 112 mi (2.4 km) short of the runway.
- On September 10, 1989, the pilot of an Aero Commander 680 was making an emergency landing on runway 17 due to loss of power in the right engine. He crashed about 14 mi (0.4 km) southwest of the runway. One fatality and one serious injury.
References
- ^ a b FAA Airport Master Record for KOA (Form 5010 PDF)
- ^ "Kalaoa CDP, Hawaii." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.
- ^ "Air Force looks to add another runway at Kona airport" in West Hawaii Today, May 16, 2009
- ^ Onizuka Space Center official web site
- ^ Onizuka Space Center on Hawaii Museum Association web site
- ^ http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1997/97_07_25.html Fishponds versus lava flows, USGS, 1997
- ^ John R. K. Clark, Hawaii Place Names: Shores, Beaches, and Surf Sites, published by University of Hawaii Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-8248-2451-8
- ^ Kona Airport master plan official web site
- ^ "Alaska Airlines adds Hawaii flights from Sacramento, San Jose". Puget Sound Business Journal. 2009-11-10. http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/11/09/daily16.html. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kona International Airport |
- Hawaii DOT page for Kona International Airport at Keahole
- Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for PHKO
- ASN accident history for KOA
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker for PHKO
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations for PHKO
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KOA
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