UPDATE: 9 p.m.
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole is expected to reopen Tuesday morning at first light after it shut down this afternoon due to safety concerns linked to cracks found on the runway.
The move ended up leading to the cancellation of a number of flights and diverting aircraft headed to Kona, affecting thousands of passengers.
The Department of Transportation said today the airport would remain closed through the night as it is not possible to operate around a damaged section of runway.
However, the department is also working with contractors to mill and resurface a 10 foot-by-10 foot area, and the work is expected to be completed before sunrise.
Passengers with flights scheduled to arrive or depart from Kona Tuesday are advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport, the department said.
Today Hawaiian Airlines canceled five interisland flights to Kona and a flight from Los Angeles, affecting some 700 people, according to the airline.
“We’ll be monitoring this through the night and hoping the patches can be done in order to get our flights out in the morning,” Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Alex Da Silva said this evening.
UPDATE: 8:15 p.m.
Hawaiian Airlines said it is canceling its remaining flights to and from Kona this evening due to the State of Hawaii’s closure of the runway at Kona airport for emergency repairs.
In a statement tonight, Hawaiian said, “Currently, five interisland flights and our flight to Los Angeles from Kona have been impacted. Guests booked to travel to or from Kona later this evening should not come to the airport. We are working closely with the state to determine when the runway will reopen and will provide further updates – including for travel tomorrow – as soon as they are available.”
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The state Department of Transportation shut down the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole at 4:20 p.m. today to assess cracks on the runway.
DOT spokesman Russell Pang said crews are examining the runway to determine how much of it is usable. But no estimated time was given for when the airport will reopen.
In the meantime a number of airlines have had to delay or divert their aircraft because of the Kona closure. Diversion include a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas, an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles and a United Airlines flight from Denver. Nearly a dozen interisland flights have been delayed.
Passengers are advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport.
Pang said the department is working with contractors to mill and resurface the area impacted by the cracks.
A project to reconstruct the entire 11,000-foot runway had been scheduled for this year, but cracks developed and the degradation of the runway pavement accelerated due to recent rains, he said.
Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
