Kona International Airport at Keahole is an airport on the Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaii. The airport serves both the town of Kailua-Kona and the major resorts of the North Kona and South Kohala districts.
Kona International, or "Kailua-Kona" as it is more often called by locals and inter-island passengers, is the only remaining major airport in the Hawaiian Islands where a mobile ramp is used to plane and deplane passengers.
Kona International sees daily 767, 777 and 747 aircraft. The airport terminal is a rambling, open-air set of structures long appreciated by arriving passengers for the casual, "holiday" atmosphere it engenders.
Long after other airports in Hawai‘i converted their terminals to multi-story buildings with automated jetway systems, Hawaiian Airlines could still utilize their DC-9 fleet's tailcone exits at Kailua-Kona.
One unique feature to Kona's airport is United Flight 3, which operates ORD-OGG-KOA-ORD on a daily basis aboard a Boeing 777. While the Kona stop certainly adds to the profitablity of this long-haul flight, it is also absolutely essential because Kahului Airport's runway is too short to allow a fully-loaded 777 to depart for a destination as far away as Chicago. |
