Honolulu International Airport: Operations & Planning Guide

Overview of Honolulu International Airport

Honolulu International Airport (HNL) is one of the world's largest, oldest, and most distinguished airports. As the principal aviation gateway of the city and county of Honolulu on Oahu in the State of Hawaii, HNL is also identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States. Total traffic now exceeds 21 million passengers a year and is rising (Honolulu International Airport, 2016).

Owned and operated by the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, HNL covers 4,520 acres of fast and submerged land. The airport itself is larger than the major resort destination of Waikiki, which is located 10 miles to the south (Honolulu International Airport, 2016).

HNL has four active runways, including the 12,000-foot Reef Runway. When it was built, the Reef Runway was the world's first major runway constructed entirely offshore (Honolulu International Airport, 2016). The airport is served by 27 international and domestic carriers, two interisland airlines, and four commuter airlines.

Within the airport, passengers are transported from the Main Terminal Ticket Lobbies to 47 gates and holding rooms in the Central, Diamond Head, and Ewa Concourses, and the Interisland and Commuter Terminals via Wiki Wiki buses. There are eight Federal Government agencies located within the airport complex, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Fish and Wildlife Service, the Post Office, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Transportation Security Administration. Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (JBPHH) and HNL operate as a joint-use facility and share runways and taxiways.

At any given daytime or evening hour, an estimated 10,000 people are in the airport complex as passengers, employees, or visitors. Approximately 15,000 people work at the airport every day, and another 20,000 depend on the airport daily for their livelihood. HNL has a workforce of 550 employees, half of whom are custodians and maintenance personnel. The airport has its own retail stores, restaurants and bars, business center, automated teller machines, insurance companies, currency exchange, jail, freeway, traffic lights, post office, and light industry. The state operates two Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting stations, one adjacent to the Reef Runway and the other near the Interisland Terminal.

The airport works closely with the Airline Committee of Hawaii, the Airport Concessionaires Committee, the Federal Aviation Administration, other federal agencies, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (JBPHH) in the operation of the airport. Honolulu International also manages Kalaeloa Airport (JRF) and Dillingham Field (HDH). Kalaeloa, the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station, was designated as the general aviation reliever airport for HNL on July 1, 1999. Kalaeloa is also an alternate landing site for military and commercial airlines and is used on a daily basis by the Coast Guard. Dillingham Field is a specialized general aviation airport used primarily by gliders and parachutists.

Major improvements are underway for Hawaii's busiest airport, which brings millions of visitors to the islands each year and serves as a major hub linking the United States mainland with Asia and destinations beyond. These airport improvements will not only enhance the traveler experience and improve efficiency and safety, but also create jobs and stimulate the state's economy. The ultimate goal is to transform Hawaii's major airports into world-class facilities over the next decade, so they can meet the future needs of island residents and visitors alike. This $2.7 billion program will be funded through airport user fees, which include airline rents and landing fees, federal grants, passenger facility charges, and airport revenue bonds that will be paid back with airport user fees.

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) "identifies nearly 3,400 existing and proposed airports that are significant to national air transportation and thus eligible to receive Federal grants under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP)" (FAA, 2016). NPIAS classifies HNL as a "large/medium hub." According to the FAA Master Record, HNL has an NPIAS/Federal Agreement classification of NGPSY3. HNL also has a weather station and control tower, and serves not only civilian but also military purposes, with a military classification at the A level ("Airport Details for PHNL — ACTIVE," 2014).

Airside Infrastructure and Operations

Airside comprises runways, taxiways, cargo facilities, stores, and rescue equipment and infrastructure such as aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF). The State of Hawaii provides ARFF services at HNL and maintains three stations there. Two are located at the HNL airside itself, while the third is adjacent at Hickam Air Force Base (AFB). Hickam AFB shares runways with HNL but maintains its own crash station (ARFF Apparatus Feature, 2009).

HNL has "more than 450,000 square feet of warehouse space and more than one million square feet of cargo ramp area," located at five different sites in nine buildings owned by Federal Express, Hawaiian Airlines, Kalitta/Pacific Air Cargo, United Airlines, United Parcel Service, and the State of Hawaii, which leases to Continental/Japan Air Lines and Delta/American Airlines (Honolulu International Airport, 2016). Most cargo at HNL is in transit, and most of it is bound for Japan (Honolulu International Airport, 2016).

The FAA maintains an air traffic control facility at HNL, which "centralizes the Honolulu Center Radar Approach Control (CERAP), the Hawaii-Pacific System Management Office (SMO), Honolulu Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT), and the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON)" (Honolulu International Airport, 2016).

A foreign object debris (FOD) hazard exists on all taxiways and runways, but especially on runway 4L/22R ("FAA Information Effective 10 November 2016," 2016). HNL runway data is as follows:

Runway 08L/26R: 12,312 × 150 ft, Asphalt, Good condition. Aircraft weight limits (thousands of lbs): Single — 80; Double — 200; Double Tandem — 400; Dual Double Tandem — 780.

Runway 08R/26L: 12,000 × 200 ft, Asphalt, Good condition. Single — 80; Double — 170; Double Tandem — 400; Dual Double — 780.

Runway 04R/22L: 9,000 × 150 ft, Asphalt, Good condition. Single — 100; Double — 200; Double Tandem — 400; Dual Double — 850.

Runway 04L/22R: 6,952 × 150 ft, Asphalt, Good condition. Single — 100; Double — 200; Double Tandem — 400; Dual Double — 850.

Runway 08W/26W: 5,000 × 300 ft, Water surface. N/A.

Runway 04W/22W: 3,000 × 150 ft, Water surface. N/A.

Landside Access and Terminal Facilities

Landside consists of all land access points, focusing on the main terminals of the airport as well as its substantial parking infrastructure. HNL has several passenger access and drop-off points, including the Interisland Parking Structure (Lot M) and the Overseas Parking Structure (Lot D), which "will fill up first" (Honolulu International Airport, 2016). There are a total of 6,000 spaces across the Overseas, Interisland, Commuter, and International parking structures (Honolulu International Airport, 2016).

"Travelers also have the option to park in the International Parking Structure (Lot A) and the Economy Parking (Lot B)" (Honolulu International Airport, 2016). There is also a cellular telephone waiting area for pickups, free of charge for stays under one hour. The city bus arrives and departs on the second floor level of the airport. HNL has both a ground floor and a second floor, with Terminals A through H located at ground level.

Aircraft parking includes both gate and hangar parking. There are 29 Overseas Terminal wide-body gates, 13 Interisland Terminal gates, and 13 Commuter Terminal gates. Total terminal area is 3.75 million square feet.