Army, lawmakers and aviation community await agreement on Dillingham Airfield

Dillingham Airfield, which has been riding a wave of business generated by mainland tourists seeking to skydive or take a glider flight, may be able to continue general aviation activity beyond a June 30 cutoff with a new agreement close at hand between the state and Army.

Time is of the essence: The state Department of Transportation Airports Division, which acts as the landlord for flight services at the Army-owned North Shore airport, sent notices to airport tenants requiring them to vacate by June 30.

Meanwhile, business is booming.

“We’re slammed. We’re only open four days a week and we’re doing more business in four days than we used to do in seven,” said Pacific Skydiving Honolulu manager Bryan Stanley.

Pre-coronavirus, Pacific Skydiving and Skydive Hawaii were the busiest in the world for first-jump students and provided the bulk of the estimated $12 million to $15 million in annual economic impact from the airfield, officials said.

Pacific Skydiving is still recovering from COVID-19 impacts that resulted in the loss of 50% of its staff.

To continue its role as landlord, the state Airports Division wants a long-term lease from the Army, said state Sen. Gil Riviere (D, Heeia-­Laie-Waialua), who has championed continued airfield operations. The Army, in turn, is willing to provide that lease, he said.

Dillingham Airfield is the only location on Oahu where skydiving and glider flights are possible.

Whether the Army, which needs high-level approval for such an agreement, can follow through in time and with terms that satisfy state DOT requirements remains to be seen.

“I would say that we have a broad-based coalition of stakeholders and interested parties, and I’m very encouraged that we’re going to be able to resolve all of the concerns and continue general aviation at this airfield,” Riviere said.

U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele (D, Hawaii) and Lt. Gov. Josh Green were among more than 20 state and federal officials who toured the airfield on March 17.

Riviere recalls Green saying, “We’re going to make this happen,” while Ed Sniffen, deputy DOT director for the Highways Division, “was out there to support the efforts to try to figure out a way forward.”

“So there has been a lot of momentum in the right direction,” Riviere said.

The Army “is working closely with the state and other agencies to identify the requirements and terms of a joint-use agreement and lease of 25 years,” U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii said in a statement. “If the state chooses to continue its operation of a joint civil use airfield … the U.S. Army will continue to support the state in this process.”

Shelly Kunishige, a DOT spokeswoman, said, “We are continuing discussions with the U.S. Army at this time.”

Stanley, the Pacific Skydiving manager, said he’s expecting to hear something in terms of a decision by the end of the month.

“The eviction date still hasn’t changed and it is stressing out all of the employees and everyone involved in all the businesses on Dillingham,” he said.

Where Japanese, Chinese and South Korean tourists made up the bulk of skydiving clientele pre-pandemic, now it’s mainland tourists who are keeping Pacific Skydiving flying. With the staff it has, the company is maxed out at 120 jumpers each day, Stanley said.

Approximately 11 businesses and over 100 employees operated at the airport prior to the tourism shutdown due to coronavirus. Even with the eviction notice, most of the operations are still hanging on, officials said. Records show 18 aircraft and 20 gliders based at Dillingham and over 36,000 civilian and 1,500 military operations annually.

Army training takes precedence over civilian operations.

To be sure, Dillingham, also known as Kawaihapai Airfield, has presented its share of headaches for the Airports Division over the past decade — and that prompted its announced exit from the airfield. The Army, meanwhile, needs to contract with a government entity for general aviation to continue.

The state has sought and received multiple lease renewals from the military since 1962. A couple of 25-year leases were obtained in 1983 and 2009, but the local Army realized in 2012 it did not have the authority to execute a lease beyond five years without approval from the secretary of the Army, the Airports Division said.

A series of short-term leases followed. High-level Army approval is now needed if a new 25-year or greater lease is to be secured, officials said.

Due to the short-term leases, the Airports Division said it has not been able to obtain federal grants to make improvements at the airfield.

The state said the airfield operated at a deficit of $624,000 in 2015 and nearly $1 million in 2019, but tenants say that includes costs for an old water supply system on Dillingham. With proper attention and an airport manager, income could be increased, backers say.

The Dillingham Water System supplies not only the airport but also a number of nearby homes, the YMCA of Honolulu’s Camp Erdman, a city beach park and the Air Force satellite tracking station. In 2012, the state estimated the on-airport replacement costs alone were as much as $10 million.

The state Airports Division said in early 2020 that it “is not in the business of being a water system operator or purveyor and, among other issues, no fees are collected.”

Riviere said the Army and state DOT have agreed in principle that the water system is a separate issue from a long-term lease, which he called a “breakthrough.”

The lawmaker said he is “learning all about water” and has taken on the task of reaching out to end users with the thought of creating a water cooperative utility.

Meanwhile, tourist business is returning to the airfield with the state’s Safe Travels Hawaii testing program and as vaccinations increase.

“I’m doing great. The (skydiving) drop zones are doing great,” said Tom Sanders, owner of Paradise Air Hawaii, a powered hang glider flight school.

“We’re not getting the Japanese, which really support the Hawaii economy, but we’re getting quite a bit” of business from the mainland, he said.

“It’s been noticeable and everybody’s been locked up for a year, so they want to do stuff and they’re spending money.”