Kahului Airport

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Kahului Airport

IATA: OGG – ICAO: PHOG
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Hawaii Department of Transportation
Location Kahului, Hawaii
Elevation AMSL 54 ft / 16.5 m
Coordinates 20°53′55″N 156°25′50″W / 20.89861, -156.43056
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
2/20 6,995 2,132 Asphalt
5/23 4,990 1,521 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 125 38 Asphalt

Kahului Airport (IATA: OGG, ICAO: PHOG) is a regional airport in the State of Hawai'i, located 3 miles (5 kilometers) east of Kahului in Maui County on the island of Maui near Haleakala. The airport code pays homage to aviation pioneer Bertram J. Hogg who worked for what is now Hawaiian Airlines flying aircraft ranging from 8-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibians to Douglas DC-3s and DC-9s into the late 1960s. Most flights into OGG originate from Honolulu International Airport; the Honolulu-Kahului corridor is one of the busiest air routes in the USA, ranking 13th in 2004 with 1,632,000 passengers.[1]

Contents

[edit] Authority

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

The Hawai'i 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 Hawai'i: Hawai'i District, Kaua'i District, Mau'i District and the principal O'ahu District. Kahului Airport is a subordinate of Mau'i District officials.

[edit] Facilities

The Kahului Airport terminal building has ticketing, USDA agricultural inspection, and baggage claim areas on the ground level. There are two TSA security checkpoints, one just after the ticketing counters, and the other just before entering baggage claim. From the TSA security checkpoints, escalators and stairways lead to a central atrium on the second level and 40 gates on two concourses.

Hawaii's strict laws on the export of fruits and plant life outside the state require passengers departing Kahului Airport on flights bound for U.S. mainland destinations to pass through a second USDA agricultural checkpoint located at the entrances of the overseas departure gate areas (Gates 1-7 and Gates 23-40). Passengers in possession of any fruits or plants will not be permitted past these checkpoints and will be prevented to board their aircraft unless they are surrendered to USDA agricultural inspectors.

A total of 18 jetways are available for enplaning or deplaning passengers (there are six gate hold areas designated A-F with 3 jetways each). Gates with odd numbers are outfitted with jetway systems, while gates with even numbers are designated as emergency exits and have stairs that leads to the tarmac below.

Kahului Airport lobby/arrival area
Kahului Airport lobby/arrival area

The airport's terminal design and gates were clustered primarily to handle inter-island flights on narrow-body aircraft like the Boeing 717 and Boeing 737. However, Kahului experienced a boom of long-haul overseas flights from the mainland United States using a mix of wide-bodied aircraft like the Boeing 767 and Boeing 777, as well as long-range narrow-bodied aircraft, such as the Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 757.

Given the original design and purpose of the airport, the aircraft used for inter-island flights can be accommodated at all gates, while those used for overseas operations cannot. Aircraft used for these two types of air carrier operations affects gate assignments, thus gate restrictions will affect the aircraft mix that can be accommodated.

The airport is currently going through several phases of expansion, authorized by the Hawai'i State Legislature. A long term goal has been set to prepare Kahului Airport for eventual elevation to permanent international airport status with potential regular service routes from Canada and Japan. Current flights from Canada use United States border preclearance facilities in Vancouver or Calgary.

Kahului Airport is composed of two main runways designated Runway 2/20 and Runway 5/23 respectively. It also is host to an asphalt helipad.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Disasters

An Aloha Airlines flight from Hilo to Honolulu landed at Kahului Airport on April 28, 1988 after its fuselage was torn away during flight.
An Aloha Airlines flight from Hilo to Honolulu landed at Kahului Airport on April 28, 1988 after its fuselage was torn away during flight.

Aloha Airlines Flight 243

On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243, a Boeing 737-200 interisland flight from Hilo Airport to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and 6 crew members experienced rapid decompression when an 18 foot section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the aircraft. One flight attendant was sucked out of the aircraft and died. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries including instances of massive head wounds. The aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Kahului Airport with slight difficulty. Noise created by the rush of air rendered vocal communication useless, and the air traffic controllers and pilots had to use hand signals during landing.

Investigations of the disaster, headquartered at Honolulu International Airport, concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue. The disaster caused almost all major United States air carriers to retire their oldest aircraft models[citation needed].

Aloha Island Air Flight 1712

On October 28, 1989, Aloha Island Air flight 1712, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, collided with mountainous terrain near Halawa Valley, Molokai, while en route on a scheduled passenger flight from Kahului Airport to Molokai Airport in Hoolehua.

The NTSB determined the cause of the accident was the airplanes controlled flight into terrain as a result of the decision of the captain to continue the flight under visual flight rules at night into instrument meteorological conditions, which obscured rising mountainous terrain.[2]

All 20 aboard the aircraft died. Thirteen of the victims were from Molokai, including eight members of the Molokai High School boys and girls volleyball teams and two faculty members. The girls team had just qualified on Maui for the state tournament.[3]

Hawaii Air Ambulance

On March 8, 2006, a Hawaii Air Ambulance Cessna 414 was making an approach to Runway 5 when it crashed into a BMW dealership just a mile outside of the airport. A pilot and two nurses were killed in the accident.[4]

[edit] Expansion

As a result of the passage of several Hawai'i State Legislature bills in 1998 and 2001, Kahului is planned to undergo expansion for new, larger facilities, lengthening of runways, increasing of fuel storage capacities, and construction of new access roads. A controversial project, it has met strong opposition from local residents who do not agree with prospects of elevating Kahului Airport to a permanent international airport. Project opponents cite concerns about increased introduction of invasive species and other issues, as evidenced by the common Maui bumper sticker "Big city airport, big city problems."

In early 2005, Governor Linda Lingle released $365 million for construction of an extended ticketing lobby, new baggage claim carousels, a new Alien Species building, a new cargo building, construction of a new apron, construction of an additional 10 jetways to replace the current jetways, and a new six-lane airport access road that would run from the airport, intersecting Haleakala Highway and Hana Highway, and run parallel to Dairy Road where it would merge with a new grade-separated interchange between Puunene Avenue (highway 350), Dairy Road, and Kuihelani Highway (highway 380).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Busiest Airline Routes in the United States - Table - MSN Encarta
  2. ^ http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR90-05.pdf
  3. ^ Honolulu Star-Bulletin Local News
  4. ^ Three killed in air ambulance crash on Maui. The Honolulu Advertiser (2006-03-08). Retrieved on 2006-03-09.

[edit] Resources

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