Hawaii attorney wants airship to shuttle people over lava
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2014 December 17 CTY - Member of the public were allowed on Wednesday to view in person the June 27th lava flow as it had stopped cold at the Pahoa Waste Transfer Station. PHOTO BY DARYL LEE / SPECIAL TO THE HSA
HILO >> A Hilo attorney is proposing using a helium-filled airship to ferry passengers over active lava if molten rock from Kilauea volcano crosses Puna’s highway.
Steve Strauss told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald a gondola attached to a buoyant ship called a SkyFlyer would carry passengers over the lava. Each trip would take about five minutes and cost about $15 one way.
Strauss has registered a company called Lava Ferry for the project.
State Sen. Russell Ruderman says he fully supports the idea. But he’s not sure if it will happen.
Strauss says the $15 cost to ride the airship would be the same as the extra fuel costs people would need to pay to take a roundabout alternate route being built through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
