Honolulu International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Honolulu International Airport


IATA = HNL
ICAO = PHNL
FAA = HNL
type = Public / Military
owner = State of Hawaii
operator = Department of Transportation
city-served =
location = Honolulu, Hawaii
elevation-f = 13
elevation-m = 4
website = [http://hawaii.gov/dot/airports/hnl/ hawaii.gov/dot/airports/hnl/]
r1-number = 4L/22R
r1-length-f = 6,952
r1-length-m = 2,119
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 4R/22L
r2-length-f = 9,000
r2-length-m = 2,743
r2-surface = Asphalt
r3-number = 4W/22W
r3-length-f = 3,000
r3-length-m = 914
r3-surface = Water
r4-number = 8L/26R
r4-length-f = 12,300
r4-length-m = 3,749
r4-surface = Asphalt
r5-number = 8R/26L
r5-length-f = 12,000
r5-length-m = 3,658
r5-surface = Asphalt
r6-number = 8W/26W
r6-length-f = 5,000
r6-length-m = 1,524
r6-surface = Water
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 310,607
stat2-header = Based aircraft
stat2-data = 206
stat3-header = Total passengers
stat3-data = 21,505,855
stat4-header = Total cargo
stat4-data = 389,054
footnotes = Sources: The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Airports Division; Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA-airport|ID=HNL|use=PU|own=PU|site=52161.*A, effective 2007-12-20]

Honolulu International Airport Airport codes|HNL|PHNL|HNL 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, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and rising. [http://www6.hawaii.gov/dot/airports/publications/cysmallone.pdf "The State of Hawaii Airport Activity Statistics By Year 2007-1994"] , "Department of Transportation, Airports Division, State of Hawaii".]

It is located three miles (5 km) northwest of the city's central business district. Main roads leading to the airport are Nimitz Highway and the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway of Interstate H-1.

Honolulu International Airport serves as the principal hub of Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines (now a cargo only airline), the two largest Hawaii-based airlines. Hawaiian offers flights between the various airports of the Hawaiian Islands and also serve the continental United States. Aloha ceased passenger flights on March 31, 2008, but continues to base its profitable cargo operations from HNL. Honolulu International Airport is host to major United States and international flagship commercial carriers with direct routes to American, Asian, and Pacific Rim destinations.

In 2007 the Honolulu airport performed 310,607 aircraft operations and served 21,505,855 passengers while processing 389,054 tons of cargo.

History

HNL opened in March 1927 as John Rodgers Airport, named after World War I naval officer John Rodgers. Fact|date=October 2008 It was funded by the territorial legislature and the Chamber of Commerce, and was the first full airport in Hawaii: aircraft had previously been limited to small landing strips, fields or seaplane docks. From 1939 to 1943, the adjacent Keehi Lagoon was dredged for use by seaplanes, and the dredged soil was moved to HNL to provide more space for conventional airplanes. Fact|date=October 2008

John Rodgers Airport was renamed Honolulu International Airport in 1947. Due to its proximity to the center of the Pacific Ocean, it was historically a stop for many transpacific flights to and from North America. By 1950, it was the third-busiest airport in the United States in terms of aircraft operations. In 1959, Qantas began the first jet service to Honolulu as a stop on its flights between Australia and California. Fact|date=October 2008 Aeronautical engineer and airline consultant, Frank Der Yuen, advised in the design of the original building and founded its aerospace museum. Fact|date=October 2008

The original terminal building was demolished in 1965 and replaced by the John Rodgers Terminal, dedicated in 1962. This terminal was expanded several times with the addition of the Diamond Head Concourse in 1970, the Ewa Concourse in 1972 and the Central Concourse in 1980. [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:_0PasxbbFpcJ:www.hawaii.gov/dot/publicaffairs/presskits/hnl/dates.htm&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=11&gl=us]

With the advent of ultra-long range aircraft, most transpacific flights are now able to overfly Honolulu. As such, the airport has seen a notable decrease in international passenger traffic over the years, particularly to Australia, the South Pacific and southeast Asia. However, Honolulu has continued to see major growth in the domestic market as major airlines have added frequent and even non-stop links to large, previously unserved markets such as Phoenix, Newark, Denver and Atlanta. Fact|date=October 2008

Future plans

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. [cite news | title=$2.3B airports upgrade proposed | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/03/25/news/story05.html | first=B.J. | last=Reyes | date=2006-03-25 | accessdate=2008-10-01]

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, who 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 and aircraft

, 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.

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.

For the 12-month period ending December 8, 2006, the airport had 323,726 aircraft operations, an average of 886 per day: 55% scheduled commercial, 26% general aviation, 15% air taxi and 5% military. There are 206 aircraft based at this airport: 48% single-engine, 27% multi-engine, 16% military, 6% helicopter and 3% jet.

Airlines, terminals and destinations

Honolulu International Airport has three terminal buildings. 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.

Despite being the largest airline to the Hawaiian Islands, United Airlines is the second largest airline in number of seats offered to Honolulu International Airport from the US mainland. Hawaiian Airlines operates a large hub at HNL with 3,168 seats per day from the US mainland and additional service at the airport in its many inter-island flights and international flights making it the largest airline at HNL. United Airlines flies the second highest amount of seats to HNL, with 2,968 per day. Then Northwest Airlines offers 2,000 seats per day to HNL, Delta Airlines offers 1,379, and American Airlines offers 1,014

Traffic to the US mainland is dominated by flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco. These two destinations, plus Seattle, account for around half of all flights from the mainland to Honolulu. Hawaiian Airlines with 10 routes has the highest market share on routes from Honolulu to the mainland.cite news| url=http://www.anna.aero/2008/09/19/not-so-happy-hawaii-sees-capacity-drop-by-30-percent/| title=Not so Happy Hawaii* sees capacity drop by 30% after Aloha’s collapse| date=19th September 2008| publisher=anna.aero]

Internationally Japan is the dominant market. Two-thirds of international seats are heading either for Nagoya, Osaka Kansai or Tokyo Narita with services provide by Air Japan, China Airlines, Jalways, Northwest or United. Narita alone is served with 68 weekly departures with Japanese carriers operating twice as many flights as US carriers.

Other major international routes are to Sydney (12 weekly departures operated by Hawaiian, Jetstar and Qantas) and Vancouver (12 weekly departures spread between Air Canada, Air Pacific and Westjet). This makes Westjet the only genuine low-cost carrier serving Hawaii.

Commuter Terminal (Gates 71-80)

The Commuter Terminal serves smaller airlines which operate flights between both the smaller and major commercial airports in the island chain. go! uses gates 71-74,go! website] Island Air uses gates 75-77, go! Express uses gate 79, and Pacific Wings uses gate 80. Gate 78 is currently unassigned.

Lobby 1

* Island Air (Kapalua, Kona, Lanaokinai, Lihue, Molokaokinai, Kahului)
* Mesa Airlines
** go! operated by Mesa Airlines (Hilo, Kahului, Kona, Lihue)
*** go! Express operated by Mokulele Airlines (Kapalua, Molokaokinai, Lanaokinai, Kahului, Kona)
* Pacific Wings (Hana, Kahului, Kalaupapa, Kamuela/Waimea, Molokaokinai)

Interisland Terminal (Gates 49-64)

The Interisland Terminal mainly serves the interisland flights of Hawaiian Airlines. It is designed to handle flights of jet aircraft between the major commercial airports in the Hawaiian Islands, and was also used by Aloha for flights to the west coast of the United States mainland. Aloha used gates 49-55, and Hawaiian uses gates 52-61. Hawaiian Airlines website]

On the ground level, Hawaiian Airlines uses Baggage Claim B for interisland arrivals; while Aloha Airlines former Baggage Claim C, is used for Hawaiian's U.S. mainland arrivals.

Lobby 2

* Hawaiian Airlines (Hilo, Kahului, Kona, Las Vegas, Lihue, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma)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.]

Lobby 3

* Hawaiian Airlines (Manila, Pago Pago, Papeete, Sydney)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.]

Main Overseas Terminal (Gates 6-34)

The Main Overseas Terminal serves U.S domestic and international destinations. 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:FlyerTalk website: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6787652 Rs|date=April 2008]

* Alaska Airlines (Gates 20-24)
* American Airlines (Gates 16-20)
* Continental Airlines (Domestic and International) (Gates 12-16, 23-25)
* Delta Air Lines (Gates 20-23)
* Hawaiian Airlines (Domestic and International) (Gates 20-34)
* Northwest Airlines (Domestic and International) (Gates 10-17)
* United Airlines (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 $45 million international arrivals corridor to connect the third floor of the Ewa Concourse directly to the International Arrivals Building and the rest of the airport. Construction began in November 2007 and is expected to take one year.cite news| url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Nov/07/br/br1489027653.html | title=Work to begin on $45 million Honolulu airport project | work=The Honolulu Advertiser | first=Advertiser | last=Staff | date=2007-11-07 | accessdate=2007-11-07]

Lobby 4

* Air Canada (Vancouver)
* Air New Zealand (Auckland)
* Air Pacific (Kiritimati, Nadi, Vancouver [ends November 28] [cite news | url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=102356 | title=Losses force airline in new direction | work=Fiji Times | date=2008-10-02 | accessdate=2008-10-01] )
* Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Seattle/Tacoma)
* All Nippon Airways
** Air Japan (Tokyo-Narita)
* Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City)
* Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
* Philippine Airlines (Manila)
* Qantas (Sydney)
** Jetstar Airways (Melbourne, Sydney)
*WestJet (Vancouver)

Lobby 5

* Japan Airlines
** Japan Airlines (charter destinations: Asahikawa, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Memanbetsu, Niigata, Sapporo-Chitose, Sendai, Takamatsu, Toyama)cite press release| url=http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=14080 | title=JAL Expands Charter Business | publisher=Japan Airlines | date=2007-01-31 | accessdate=2007-03-21]
** JALways (Nagoya-Centrair, Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Narita)

Lobby 6

* China Airlines (Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita)
* Omni Air International (Las Vegas)
* US Airways (Phoenix)

Lobby 7

* American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare [ends January 5] , Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco)
* Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark)
** Continental Airlines operated by Continental Micronesia (Chuuk, Guam, Kosrae, Kwajalein, Majuro, Pohnpei)
* Northwest Airlines (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Osaka-Kansai, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Tokyo-Narita)

Lobby 8

* United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma [seasonal] , Tokyo-Narita)

Public transport

TheBus routes 19, 20, and 31 stop on the upper (departure) level of the airport. Routes 19 and 20 connects the airport to Pearl Ridge, Hickam, Downtown, Ala Moana Center, and Waikiki. Route 31 connects the Airport to Kalihi Transit Center, where passengers can transfer to Route 2 or the faster Route B CityExpress! to Downtown and Waikiki.

Incidents

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

*A bomb exploded aboard Pan Am Flight 830 as it was preparing to approach Honolulu International Airport from Tokyo on August 11, 1982. One teenager was killed and 15 others were injured. The aircraft did not disintegrate, and made a safe emergency landing in Honolulu.

*Aloha Airlines Flight 243, flying from Hilo to Honolulu International Airport on April 28, 1988, 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.

*United Airlines Flight 811, a Boeing 747 carrying 3 flight crew, 15 cabin crew and 337 passengers from Honolulu to Auckland on February 24, 1989, suffered rapid decompression when a cargo door separated from the aircraft after takeoff from the Reef Runway. Nine passengers were swept from the aircraft. The plane returned to Honolulu.

*Oplan Bojinka, a plot discovered by US and Filipino intelligence authorities after a fire in a Manila apartment, included in its first phase the planned explosion of several flights inbound to, or outbound from, Honolulu on January 21, 1995.

References

External links

* [http://hawaii.gov/dot/airports/hnl/ Hawaii DOT page for Honolulu International Airport]
* [http://hnlairportweb.com/index.asp Honolulu International Airport Flight Information]
* [http://www2.hickam.af.mil/ Hickam Air Force Base]
*FAA-diagram|00754
*US-airport2|HNL|PHNL
**FAA-delay|HNL