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Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii."The State of Hawaii Airport Activity Statistics By Year 2007-1994"
, ''Department of Transportation, Airports Division, State of Hawaii''
The airport is named after
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
native and
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
recipient
Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative ...
, who represented Hawaii in the U.S. Senate from 1963 to his death in 2012. The airport is in the Honolulu
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...
3 miles (5 km) northwest of Honolulu's central business district., effective December 30, 2021 The airport covers 4,220 acres (1,708 ha), more than 1% of
Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
's land. Daniel K. Inouye Airport offers nonstop flights to many places in North America, Asia, and
Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
. The airport serves as the main hub of
Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) 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 airl ...
and is also a base for Aloha Air Cargo. The airport is included in the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
(FAA)
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...
for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a large-hub primary commercial service facility.


History

HNL opened in March 1927 as John Rodgers Airport, after World War I naval officer John Rodgers. 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, and 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 planes. The U.S. military grounded all civil aircraft and took over all civil airports after the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
, and Rodgers Field was designated Naval Air Station Honolulu. The Navy built a control tower and terminal building, and some commercial traffic was allowed during daylight hours. Rodgers Field was returned to the
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
in 1946. At the time, at , it was one of the largest airports in the United States, with four paved land runways and three seaplane runways. John Rodgers Airport was renamed Honolulu Airport in 1947; "International" being added to the name in 1951. Being near the center of the Pacific Ocean it was a stop for many transpacific flights. By 1950, it was the third-busiest airport in the United States in terms of aircraft operations, and its runway was the world's longest in 1953. In summer 1959,
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
began the first jet service to Honolulu on its flights between Australia and California. Qantas introduced these jet flights with
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
aircraft operating a routing of Sydney – Fiji – Honolulu – San Francisco. Aeronautical engineer and airline consultant Frank Der Yuen advised in the design of the original building and founded its aerospace museum. The original terminal building on the southeast side of runways 4 was replaced by the John Rodgers Terminal, which was dedicated on August 22, 1962, and opened on October 14, 1962. From 1970 through 1978, the architect Vladimir Ossipoff designed a terminal modernization project that remodeled this terminal and created several additions, which included the Diamond Head Concourse in 1970, the Ewa Concourse in 1972, and the Central Concourse in 1980.
Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
(Pan Am) used Honolulu as a transpacific hub for many years, initially as a connecting point between the West Coast and Polynesia (Fiji, New Caledonia, and New Zealand) in 1946, followed by service to East Asia through
Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
and
Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...
from 1947. By 1960, Pan American was serving the airport with
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
jets. Pan Am flight number 1, operating a 707, flew a westbound routing of San Francisco – Honolulu – Wake Island – Tokyo – Hong Kong and continuing on to New York City via stops in Asia and Europe. The airline also operated nonstop 707 service to Portland, Oregon (continuing to Seattle) and Los Angeles. Pan Am also had direct 707 flights from Honolulu to Calcutta, Guam, Jakarta, Karachi, Manila, Rangoon, Saigon, and Singapore in 1960.
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
was flying nonstop
Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...
"Mainliner" service from San Francisco in 1947 and by 1961 was operating Douglas DC-8 jet service nonstop from Los Angeles and San Francisco with direct one-stop DC-8 flights from both Chicago and New York City .
British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines or BCPA, was an airline registered in New South Wales, Australia in June 1946 with headquarters in Sydney. It was formed by the governments of Australia (50%), New Zealand (30%) and the United Kingdom (2 ...
(BCPA) began serving the airport during the mid-1940s with
Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...
aircraft flying a routing of Sydney – Auckland – Fiji – Canton Island – Honolulu – San Francisco – Vancouver, B.C. In 1950, Northwest Airlines was operating nonstop flights from Seattle with
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advance ...
propliners; by 1961, Northwest was flying daily Douglas DC-8 jet service on a round trip routing of New York City – Chicago – Seattle – Portland, OR – Honolulu. Also in 1950,
Canadian Pacific Air Lines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...
(which later became CP Air) was operating service between western Canada and Australia with a routing of Vancouver – Honolulu – Canton Island – Fiji – Sydney. Honolulu-based air carriers Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines had both introduced jet service on their respective inter-island routes in Hawaii by 1966 with Aloha operating
British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 19 ...
BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...
jets and Hawaiian flying Douglas DC-9-10 jets with both airlines also continuing to operate turboprops on their island services at this time. According to their respective timetables, Aloha was flying Fairchild F-27 and
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
propjets while Hawaiian was operating
Convair 640 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...
propjets in addition to their new jet aircraft in 1966. Both local air carriers would eventually operate service to the U.S. mainland as well as to the South Pacific while continuing to operate inter-island flights. In 1986, Hawaiian was operating nonstop
Lockheed L-1011 Tristar The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comm ...
service from Honolulu to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle as well as one-stop direct service to Portland, Oregon, and also nonstop Douglas DC-8 service to
Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...
with this flight continuing on to
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. By 2003, Aloha was flying nonstop
Boeing 737-700 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boeing ...
service to Burbank, Oakland, Orange County, and Vancouver, B.C., with one-stop service to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Reno, and Sacramento in addition to operating nonstop flights to
Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
and
Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...
with one-stop service to Majuro and
Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...
. In the spring of 1969, Braniff International introduced nonstop
Boeing 707-320 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
service to Honolulu from
Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of ...
, Houston Hobby Airport, and St. Louis, with one-stop service from Atlanta, Miami, and New Orleans. At the same time,
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
introduced daily nonstop
Douglas DC-8-62 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...
flights from New York City and was continuing to operate nonstop DC-8 service to Honolulu from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Also in 1969,
Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...
was operating nonstop
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
and Boeing 720B service not only from several California cities but also from Anchorage, Denver, Minneapolis–St. Paul, and Phoenix. By 1981, Western was operating one-stop
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
service from London
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
via a
polar route A polar route is an aircraft route across the uninhabited polar ice cap regions. The term "polar route" was originally applied to great circle navigation routes between Europe and the west coast of North America in the 1950s. The Arctic Early yea ...
with a stop in Anchorage. By the mid-1970s Pan Am offered nonstop service from Honolulu to Japan, Guam, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, as well as to cities on the West Coast.
Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...
used Honolulu as a stopover point for charter service to Southeast Asia during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
era, and to feed its Guam-based
Air Micronesia Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was a company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of o ...
operation. By the early 1970s, Continental was operating scheduled nonstop flights between Honolulu and Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, including
Boeing 747-100 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
nonstops from Los Angeles and one-stop 747 flights from Chicago. Air Micronesia had service to Guam via stops at
Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
,
Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
, Majuro,
Ponape Ponape may refer to: * Pohnpei, an island in the Federated States of Micronesia * ''Ponape'' (barque), a German sailing ship {{disambiguation ...
, (now
Pohnpei Pohnpei "upon (''pohn'') a stone altar (''pei'')" (formerly known as Ponape or Ascension, Proto-Chuukic-Pohnpeic: ''*Fawo ni pei)'' is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnp ...
) and Truk (now
Chuuk State Chuuk State (; also known as Truk) is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are Kosrae State, Pohnpei State, and Yap State. It consists of several island groups: * Namoneas * Faichuuk * Hall Is ...
) flying a
Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...
.
American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...
also operated flights to Auckland, Sydney, Fiji and
Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...
via Honolulu during the early 1970s in addition to operating nonstop Boeing 707-320 flights from St. Louis. Over the years, many foreign air carriers used Honolulu as a transpacific stopover point, including Air New Zealand,
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pa ...
(now
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
),
British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines or BCPA, was an airline registered in New South Wales, Australia in June 1946 with headquarters in Sydney. It was formed by the governments of Australia (50%), New Zealand (30%) and the United Kingdom (2 ...
,
Canadian Pacific Air Lines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...
,
China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (in ...
,
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, op ...
,
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
, Korean Air,
Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Cen ...
,
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
, Real Transportes Aereos (a Brazilian airline), and
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines ( abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in corporat ...
as well as French air carriers Union de Transports Aeriens (UTA) and its predecessor Transports Aeriens Intercontinentaux (TAI).
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pa ...
served Honolulu as part of its around the world services during the 1960s and early 1970s, first with
Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia is a retired British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the Commonwealth. During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved ...
turboprop airliners and later with
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
and Vickers VC10 jets.
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
and
Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
( TWA) also served Honolulu as a stop on their respective around the world services during the early 1970s. In 1979, Braniff International was operating all of its flights from the airport with
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
aircraft with nonstops to Dallas–Fort Worth, Guam, and Los Angeles as well as one-stop service to Hong Kong and also one-stop service to Bogota in South America. Several small airlines based in the South Pacific also served Honolulu. In 1983, Air Nauru was operating
Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
nonstop flights from Majuro with direct service from
Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in ...
,
Air Niugini Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby to 12 major airports while its subsidia ...
was flying Boeing 707 aircraft nonstop from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and Air Tungaru was operating
Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...
aircraft nonstop from Christmas Island . Also in 1983, Honolulu-based South Pacific Island Airways was operating nonstop Boeing 707 service from Anchorage, Guam, Pago Pago and Papeete. In April 1974,
American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...
, Braniff International,
Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...
, Northwest Airlines,
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
, TWA,
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
and
Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...
were all operating nonstop services on domestic routes from the U.S. mainland while CP Air, a Canadian airline, was operating international nonstop service from Vancouver and on to the South Pacific during the mid-1970s. Just over 25 years later, in June 1999, U.S.-based air carriers operating domestic nonstop services from the mainland included American Airlines, American Trans Air, Continental,
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
, Hawaiian Airlines, Northwest, TWA, and United, while Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International (the successor to CP Air), and
Canada 3000 Canada 3000 Airlines Inc. was a Canadian discount charter airline offering domestic and international flights. It was the largest charter airline in the world at the time of its operation, with over 90 destinations worldwide, although it changed ...
were operating nonstop services from Canada.


Modernization and history since 2006

On March 24, 2006, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle unveiled a $2.3 billion modernization program for Hawaii airports over a 12-year period, with $1.7 billion budgeted for Honolulu International Airport. The plan involves implementing short-term projects within the first five years to improve passenger service and increase security and operational efficiencies. As part of the modernization, flight display monitors throughout the airport have been upgraded, new food and beverage vendors have been added, and a new parking garage across from the international arrival terminal has been completed. Current projects include an international arrivals corridor with moving sidewalks built atop the breezeway leading to the Ewa Concourse. The first phase of the project was completed in October 2009, while the remainder of the two phase project was completed in 2010. In 2011, Hawaiian Airlines renovated the check-in lobby of the Interisland Terminal, replacing the traditional check-in counters with six circular check-in islands in the middle of the lobbies, which can be used for inter-island, mainland, and international flights. This renovation project was fully funded by Hawaiian Airlines and not a part of the modernization program. Future projects include construction of a Mauka Concourse branching off the Interisland Terminal, the first concourse expansion at Honolulu International Airport in 15 years. Construction of the concourse will involve replacing the existing Commuter Terminal. This new concourse will be for the exclusive use of Hawaiian Airlines, and will allow it to reduce use of overseas terminal gates for international and US mainland flights. This will mean less walking for passengers who check in, clear security, and use the baggage claim at the inter-island terminal. It will also free up gates in the overseas terminal for use by other airlines. Landside plans include construction of a consolidated rental car facility (CONRAC). A temporary rental car center is currently being built in the overseas parking garage so that the existing rental car facilities can be demolished to make way for the new permanent facility. By 2012, Hawaiian Airlines was re-establishing Honolulu International Airport as a connecting hub between the United States mainland and the Asia-Pacific region. That year, according to a
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
study, the airport had 24% fewer domestic departure flights than it did in 2007. During the 2016 legislative session, the Hawaii state legislature passed a resolution requesting that the U.S. Department of Transportation rename Honolulu International Airport for the late U.S. senator and
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
recipient
Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative ...
. The new name first appeared in
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
documentation on April 27, 2017, and the airport was officially renamed in a ceremony at the airport on May 30, 2017. After years of delays, on May 30, 2018, the state airports division broke ground on the Mauka Concourse with completion on August 26, 2021. On June 1, 2018, the
Hawaii Department of Transportation The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is a state government organization which oversees transportation in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The agency is divided into three divisions dealing with aviation, maritime, and roads. HDOT Divisions A ...
started renumbering all gates and baggage claim carousels. Gates were renamed alphanumerically and baggage carousels were renumbered from alphanumerical to numerical. HDOT cited the expansion of existing terminals in the airport as a reason to renumber all gates and baggage carousels. The renumbering was the first done since 1993.


Facilities

The airport has four major
runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...
s, which it operates in conjunction with the adjacent Hickam Air Force Base. The principal runway designated 8R/26L, also known as the Reef Runway, was the world's first major runway constructed entirely offshore. Completed in 1977, the Reef Runway was a designated alternate landing site for the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...
. In addition to the four paved runways, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport has two designated offshore waterways designated 8W/26W and 4W/22W for use by
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
s.


Terminals

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport has 60 gates (54 jet-way gates and 6 hard stands) in three terminals. The Wiki Wiki Shuttle provides inter-terminal transportation between the ticket lobbies of all three terminals and between the concourses in terminals 1 and 2. All gates in terminals 1 and 2 are connected post-security; however, passengers walking from Terminal 1 to gates in Terminal 2 must pass through a USDA agricultural inspection station for carry-on luggage. Terminal 1 (formerly known as the "Interisland Terminal") opened in 1993 and has 25 gates. The $130 million 8-gate terminal was the largest construction project undertaken at that time by the State Airports Division and replaced an earlier terminal built in 1961. In 1995, a 5-gate extension to the terminal, which also featured a new post-security walkway to Terminal 2, opened. On May 30, 2018, the state airports division broke ground on the Mauka Concourse after years of delays. This new concourse adds space for 11 narrow-body aircraft or six wide-body aircraft and also features a post-security walkway to the rest of Terminal 1 and a new six-lane TSA security checkpoint. The Mauka Concourse opened for passenger use on August 27, 2021. Terminal 2 (formerly known as the "Overseas Terminal") opened in 1962 and has 29 gates. Terminal 2 is the largest terminal at HNL and is the only terminal which can take international arrivals and departures. From 1970 through 1978, architect Vladimir Ossipoff designed a terminal modernization project that remodeled this terminal and created several additions, which included the Diamond Head Concourse in 1970, the Ewa Concourse in 1972, and the Central Concourse in 1980. 2 3-jetway gates to handle an Airbus A380 were added to the terminal in 2018; this was done to support
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
's A380 flights between
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
's Narita Airport and Honolulu. Terminal 3 opened in 2018 between the Delta and United Cargo facilities on the Diamond Head side of the airport. The terminal was originally a single-story facility located north of Terminal 1 adjacent to Nimitz Highway, but this older facility was closed on June 1, 2018, for demolition in order to make way for the Mauka Concourse expansion of Terminal 1. Originally a larger replacement commuter terminal was planned to be built on the Diamond Head side of the airport, but those plans were ultimately canceled. This was largely due to bankruptcy of three of the four airlines occupying the terminal and the higher-than-expected cost of the project.


Ground transportation

Main roads leading to the airport are Nimitz Highway and the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway of
Interstate H-1 Interstate H-1 (abbreviated H-1) is the longest and busiest Interstate Highway in the US state of Hawaii. The highway is located on the island of O‘ahu. Despite the number, this is an east–west highway; the 'H'-series (for Hawaii) numbering ...
. TheBus routes 20 and 303 stop on the upper (departure) level of the airport. Route 20 connects the airport to
Pearlridge Center Pearlridge Center is the second largest shopping center in Hawaii, after Ala Moana Center, Ala Moana, and is Hawaii's largest enclosed shopping center, located in Aiea, Hawaii, Aiea. Opened in 1972 and expanded in 1976, the enclosed mall is split i ...
, Downtown Honolulu,
Ala Moana Center The Ala Moana Center, commonly known simply as Ala Moana, is a large open-air shopping mall in the Ala Moana neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. Owned by Brookfield Properties, Ala Moana is the eleventh largest shopping mall in the United States an ...
, and
Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the distri ...
. Hickam AFB is served by the new Route 303. Routes 9, 40, 42, and 51 run on Nimitz Highway within walking distance of the airport. Route 19 (Waikiki-Airport-Hickam) is no longer in service. When
Honolulu Rail Transit The Honolulu Rail Transit Project (also known as the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project) is a light metro system under construction in Honolulu County, Hawaii, U.S. The mostly elevated system features design elements from both heav ...
phase II opens, it will serve
a station , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including '' Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', '' Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and '' Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well ...
at the airport connecting it to Downtown Honolulu and points west of the airport.


Rental car facility

A new consolidated rental car facility was opened at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on December 1, 2021. The LEED-certified facility features customer service counters, with 4,500 cars in the facility, eliminating the need for shuttle buses.


Airlines and destinations


Passenger


Cargo


Fixed-base operators

A number of
fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...
s are located along Lagoon Drive on the airport's southeastern perimeter. While these focus on general aviation services, there are a few small passenger airline operations that operate from these facilities, rather than from the main terminal complex. Air tour flights typically depart from this area as well.


Traffic and statistics


Top destinations


Airline market share


Annual traffic


Accidents and incidents

* On March 22, 1955, a
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
on descent to a landing in darkness and heavy rain strayed off course and crashed into Pali Kea Peak in the southern part of Oahus Waianae Range, killing all 66 people on board. It remains the worst air disaster in Hawaiis history and the deadliest
heavier-than-air An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
accident in the history of U.S.
naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...
.Grossnick, Roy A., ''United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995'', Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, undated
, p. 206.
* On July 22, 1962, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301, a Bristol Britannia 314 crashed while it attempted a "go-around". 27 of the 40 passengers and crew on board were killed. *
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
N7410 of Aloha Airlines was damaged beyond repair when it collided on the ground with Douglas DC-9-31 N906H of Hawaiian Airlines on June 27, 1969. *On August 8, 1971,
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
N7415 of Aloha Airlines was damaged beyond economic repair when a fire broke out upon landing. *
Pan Am Flight 830 Pan Am Flight 830 was a flight from New Tokyo International Airport (now known as Narita International Airport) in Tokyo, Japan, to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii. On August 11, 1982, the Boeing 747-121 serving the flight, nicknamed ''C ...
: a Boeing 747-121, a bomb exploded aboard as the aircraft prepared for approach to Honolulu from
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
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. * United Airlines Flight 811: a
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
carrying three flight crew, 15 cabin crew, and 337 passengers from Honolulu to
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
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. *
Bojinka plot The Bojinka plot ( ar, بوجينكا; tl, Oplan Bojinka) was a large-scale, three-phase terrorist attack planned by Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for January 1995. They planned to assassinate Pope John Paul II; blow up 11 airliner ...
: a plot discovered by United States and Filipino intelligence authorities after a fire in a Manila apartment, included in its first phase the planned detonation of bombs aboard several flights inbound to, or outbound from, Honolulu on January 21, 1995. The Bojinka plot later developed into the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. * On February 2, 2016, the pilot of a Cessna 337 Skymaster, making a trip to nearby Kalaeloa Airport from Honolulu International Airport, discovered his landing gear would not extend. After holding for 2 hours to burn fuel, he made an emergency water landing in Sea Lane 4/22 off Lagoon Drive. The 68-year-old pilot did not require transportation to the hospital. * On July 2, 2021, a Transair
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
-200 (N810TA), en route to Kahului operating as cargo flight
Transair Flight 810 Transair Flight 810, a Boeing 737-200 converted freighter aircraft on a short cargo flight en route from Honolulu International Airport to Kahului Airport on the neighboring Hawaiian island of Maui, experienced mechanical difficulties and cra ...
, crash-landed into the ocean shortly after departure near Ewa Beach. The aircraft had suffered an engine failure. The two pilots on board were rescued by the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...
with minor injuries.


See also

* Island Hopper scheduled air service


References


External links

*
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Flight Information

Hickam Air Force Base
* * ** {{authority control 1927 establishments in Hawaii Airports established in 1927 Airports in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu Transportation in Honolulu WAAS reference stations Works Progress Administration in Hawaii