The state leased Ford Island for general aviation. A new terminal at Keahole was dedicated. Jumbo jet service was initiated at Honolulu International. The Reef Runway was constructed at HNL. Airport facilities continued to be upgraded statewide to meet the travel demand of the public. The FAA instituted a new security program.
Archives by Month:
A new Hawaii Department of Transportation was formed as Statehood was implemented. A new terminal was constructed at Honolulu International Airport (HNL). It soon proved too small and additional facilities began construction. A search was begun for a new general aviation airport on Oahu. A joint-use agreement was made between Hickam AFB and HNL. A new jet runway was added at Hilo Airport. New terminals were underway at Kona and Molokai.
Increased commercial air travel and the Korean War Airlift placed major stresses on the terminal facilities at Honolulu Airport and plans were begun for a new terminal on the North side of the airport. A new terminal at Lihue opened. The first jet service came to Hawaii.
World War II affected aviation in Hawaii forever. The military took over all airfields in the Territory after December 7, 1941 and improved the airfield and built new facilities at major fields. After the War the airports were returned to the Territory and commercial aviation resumed. New airlines entered the interisland and trans-Pacific markets. John Rodgers Field was renamed Honolulu Airport.
Aviation grew during the 1930s with the trans-Pacific flights of Amelia Earhart and Charles Kingsford Smith, the introduction of Pan American Airways into the islands, the construction of new airfields by the military, and the continued improvements to John Rodgers Field.
Navy Commander John Rodgers' first trans-Pacific flight from San Francisco to Hawaii, was followed by successful flights by the Army and civilians. Work continued on new airfields, and Inter-Island Airlines launched commercial interisland passenger service.
Aviation in Hawaii kicked off with a balloonist, saw Hawaii's first airplane flight in 1910 and ended with the purchase of Ford Island by the War Department.