Airport lobby gets pre-APEC face lift

The state Department of Transportation’s Airports Division completed renovations this week on one of five ticketing lobbies in the main overseas terminal at Honolulu Airport.

The work was not part of the state’s general cleanup ahead of next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting of world leaders, but the completion date was moved forward two or three months to finish before APEC, said Dan Meisenzahl, department spokesman. APEC runs from Nov. 7 to 13.

Renovations at Lobby 8 include a back wall made of cast glass depicting the Pacific Ocean, and a wooden wall in the shape of a wave above the entire lobby.

Ticketing is done at the back wall, and bags are placed on the conveyor belt behind 46 new ticket counters.

Travelers will no longer have to carry their bags to security screening machines in the middle of the lobby. Those machines have been removed along with the old, termite-damaged ticket counters. The change gives the lobby a more open feel. Security screening is now done out of sight.

"The ticketing lobbies at Honolulu International Airport have remained largely unchanged for decades and look like they could be located in any airport in the world," said DOT director Glenn Okimoto. "Now when you enter Lobby 8, you know that you are still in Hawaii, thanks to its stunning Pacific Ocean theme."

State engineers are working on a similar Hawaiian Islands theme for Lobby 7, and work is expected to begin by the end of the year. The plan is to renovate all five lobbies in the main overseas terminal. Some might have volcano themes or mountain themes, but all will give travelers a sense of place, Meisenzahl said.

The aesthetic portion of the Lobby 8 renovation cost $635,000, Meisenzahl said.

The renovation is a part of a larger project to install an in-line explosive detection system at the airport.

The $66 million security project started in July 2010 and is scheduled to be complete in January 2013. It includes 16 explosive detection machines provided by the Transportation Security Administration in Lobbies 4, 5, 7 and 8; four explosive trace detection rooms; a new baggage handling system; and modernizing the existing ticket lobbies.

The state has also recently added a decorative navigational compass in the Ewa concourse breezeway, 17 new video displays in the International Arrivals Building which will show scenic videos of Hawaii, six paintings by Hilo-born artist Kristie Fujiyama Kosmides and a roaming band of Hawaiian musicians who perform at the airport regularly.

The department said the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Polynesian Voyaging Society and Kamehameha Publishing assisted with the airport upgrades.