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Wow, this sucks. I've flown in and out of KOA many times, its one runway, and not too many taxiways. They gotta get this fixed ASAP. Hawaiian has 3 717's and a A321 Neo stuck on the ground there, and American has a A321 stuck. They could route planes to Hilo, but that is a 90 minute to 2 hour drive across the island on the awesome Saddle road, but that really can't handle a ton of traffic.
Kona airport reopens following emergency runway repairs that left hundreds stranded
The airport has reopened following an hours-long shutdown.
www.hawaiinewsnow.com
KONA (HawaiiNewsNow) - Flights into and out of Kona’s international airport were halted Monday because of so-called “runway cracks” — ruts in the asphalt that authorities say worsened during recent heavy rains.
Officials said the runway — closed since 4:20 p.m. — would remain unusable through Monday night. Crews were working through the evening on repairs and hoped to have them complete “by first light” Tuesday.
Passengers flying out of or into Kona airport on Tuesday were urged to check with their airlines.
The airport closure forced a long list of delays and diversions.
Hawaiian Airlines announced at 7 p.m. that it was canceling all remaining flights into or out of Kona through Monday night. At least five Hawaiian Air inter-island flights and one trans-Pacific flight was impacted.
“Five minutes before we were about to take off, they told us it was going to be a one-hour delay,” said passenger Anna Cau. “They have finally announced they are going to close the airport. There are hundreds of people at the airport. We are fortunate to have friends that we are going to be staying with, but there are many here who don’t have accommodations and don’t have a way to get to Hilo.”
Passenger Kay Smullen had a more laid-back response to the closure, though.
“It is what it is. Not much we can do to control this situation,” she said.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority pledged to help stranded visitors headed to or trying to leave Kona.