Hawaii's Kona airport to reopen today after cracks on runway led to shutdown

The Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Keahole is set to reopen on Tuesday morning after a safety issue involving runway cracks caused several flights to be cancelled the previous day, affecting thousands of passengers.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) shut down the Kona International Airport at 4:20 pm on Monday to assess cracks on the runway, Hawaiian media reported.

They announced that the airport would remain closed through the night as it was not possible to operate around a damaged section of the runway.

In the meantime, several airlines had to delay or divert their aircraft because of the Kona closure.

Diversion included 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.

Hawaiian Airlines on Monday cancelled five interisland flights to Kona and a flight from Los Angeles, affecting some 700 people, according to the airline.

The department said that it was also working with contractors to mill and resurface a 10-by-10-foot area, and the work is expected to be completed before sunrise on Tuesday.

Passengers with flights scheduled to arrive or depart from Kona Tuesday have been advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport, the department said.

Furthermore, DOT spokesman Russell Pang said: “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.”