Airports Division touts improvement projects

The Department of Transportation Airports Division expects the number of passengers boarding planes at state airports to exceed the 2007-2008 peak this year and is continuing major initiatives, including a $2.7 billion airline modernization project.

The division estimates 18 million passengers will board planes at state airports this year, up about 5 percent from 17.2 million last year, said Department of Transportation Deputy Director of Airports Ross Higashi, who spoke at an airport and airline update sponsored by the Pacific Asia Travel Association Hawaii Chapter, which met Thursday at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2008, 17.5 million passengers boarded planes in Hawaii. This year’s jump means additional pressure for the division, which has been working on its modernization program for a decade, to step up its game.

“There’s been a lot of information in the last three months about the Airports Division and things that need to be improved,” Higashi said. “So let me tell you a lot of things are in line to get done, and within two years you’ll see a lot of projects get completed.”

Higashi said the bulk of the airport modernization projects will be completed in 2020. He highlighted numerous ongoing projects, which are funded through concession and airline revenue, including:

>> A project to replace corroded, leaking roofs and increase their height clearance at the international terminal at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. That project started in 2015 and is slated to finish in September.

>> The Honolulu Consolidated Rental Car Facility, which puts rental car facilities into one building, is now 10 percent complete and is expected to finish in July 2020.

>> The Maui Consolidated Rental Car Facility is 30 percent complete and will finish in October 2018.

>> A Diamond Head concourse improvement has begun at the Honolulu airport that will mirror the Ewa concourse, where restrooms and other improvements already have been made.

>> More than $50 million in improvements has been planned for Kahului Airport passenger waiting areas, and another $27 million is planned for Lihue Airport waiting areas.

>> Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Kea­hole is going through a major terminal modernization program, which started in 2017 and includes plans to build a permanent Federal Inspection Services facility in the next four years.

>> Money has been appropriated to make signage, Wi-Fi and restroom improvements, which will be made statewide.

>> More automated passport control kiosks are planned for Honolulu.

>> The division also is implementing a gate project to accommodate Airbus A380 double-decker planes in Honolulu.

Higashi said the department also plans to ask state lawmakers to reconsider creating an airport corporation to manage Hawaii’s 15 airports.

The division introduced legislation to create the entity in 2016 and 2017, but the measures were deferred. Higashi said the entity is needed to “expedite capital improvement projects” and to promote efficiency for airlines and service for travelers.

Following this year’s legislative deferral, Ford Fuchigami, the Department of Transportation’s director, issued a statement expressing his frustration. Without an airport corporation, Fuchigami said, “Airport management does not have control over the decision making that would deliver first class airports. Without systematic changes the public should not expect significant changes at our airports.”