Kahului Airport is the main airport of Maui in the state of Hawaii, United States, located east of Kahului.<!--The map shows that the airport is NOT in the CDP--> It has offered full airport operations since 1952. Many flights into Kahului originate from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu; the Honolulu–Kahului corridor is one of the heaviest-trafficked air routes in the US, ranking 13th in 2004 with 1,632,000 passengers.
The FAA/IATA airport code OGG pays homage to aviation pioneer Bertram J. "Jimmy" Hogg, a Kauai native who worked for what is now Hawaiian Airlines, flying aircraft ranging from eight-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibians to Douglas DC-3s and DC-9s into the late 1960s.
It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a medium-hub primary commercial service facility.
History
In response to the Attack on Pearl Harbor on nearby Oahu, the U.S. entered World War II. The demands of war required a proper air station on Maui, so the Navy acquired approximately of sugar cane fields near Kahului and beginning construction in 1942. Following the end of the war in 1945, the Territory of Hawaii began negotiations to convert Naval Air Station Kahului into a civil airport to replace the inadequate airport near Puunene.
Extensive negotiations between the Territory of Hawaii and the Navy resulted in a gradual transition of the base to civilian control. By December 1947, jurisdiction was transferred to the Territory, and the Hawaii Aeronautics Commission assumed custodial oversight. During this time, work began to prepare the airfield for its new role. A passenger terminal was built from surplus military materials, an old shop was remodeled into a refrigerated air freight building, and the navigational and runway lighting systems were installed. In June 1952, Congress authorized the Navy to transfer ownership of the airport to the Territory. A consolidated rental car facility, linked to the terminal via a tram, opened in 2019. By 2025, a major renovation on the south side of the terminal merged two previously separate hold rooms and enclosed an open-air walkway, creating a , air-conditioned waiting area.
Authority
Kahului Airport is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawaii. The official authority of Kahului Airport is the Governor of Hawaii. The governor appoints the Director of the Hawaii State Department of Transportation, who has jurisdiction over the Hawaii Airports Administrator.
The Hawaii Airports Administrator oversees six governing bodies: Airports Operations Office, Airports Planning Office, Engineering Branch, Information Technology Office, Staff Services Office, and Visitor Information Program Office. Collectively, the six bodies have authority over the four airport districts in Hawaii: Hawai'i District, Kaua'i District, Maui District and the principal O'ahu District. Kahului Airport is a subordinate of Maui District officials.
Facilities and aircraft
thumb|Overseas concourse at Kahului Airport
The Kahului Airport is in Maui County. It is not in any census-designated place.
The Kahului Airport terminal building has ticketing, USDA agricultural inspection, and baggage claim areas on the ground level.
Sixteen jetways are available for enplaning or deplaning passengers. Gates with odd numbers have a jetway, while the rarely used gates with even numbers have stairs that lead to the ramp below. The main passenger terminal is divided into two areas, north and south. The south area houses Gates 1–16 with seven aircraft parking positions (sized for four narrow-body and three wide-body aircraft). The north area houses Gates 17–39 with nine aircraft parking positions (sized for three narrow-body and six wide-body aircraft). Helicopters operate from the area directly east of the approach end of Runway 2. No fixed-wing aircraft are permitted in this area between sunrise and sunset, and fixed-wing operations in this area from sunset to sunrise require prior authorization.
Under the OGG Master Plan, Runway 2 would be lengthened (to the south) to by 2021, allowing operations with long-distance aircraft carrying a full load of fuel at maximum take-off weight. This would enable nonstop service from Kahului to Chicago, Dallas, and Denver with Boeing 777-200 aircraft. In addition, a parallel runway to 2/20 would be constructed in the future, with a centerline separation of . The parallel runway would enable simultaneous operations and would serve as a backup to Runway 2.
| Air Canada | Seasonal: Vancouver
| Alaska Airlines | Portland (OR), San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma <br /> Seasonal: Anchorage
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| | Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor <br /> Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare (begins December 17, 2026)
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| Delta Air Lines | Los Angeles, Seattle/Tacoma Minneapolis/St. Paul (begins November 9, 2026), Salt Lake City
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| Hawaiian Airlines | Hilo, Honolulu, Kailua-Kona, Las Vegas, Lihue, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma Kailua-Kona, Kailua-Kona, San Jose (CA) Denver, Vancouver
Cargo
Top destinations
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%"
|+ Busiest domestic routes from OGG<!-- BTS DATA IS ONLY FOR DESTINATIONS; THIS IS NOT "TO AND FROM" --> (January 2025 – December 2025)
! Rank
! City
! Passengers
! Carriers
|-
| 1
| Honolulu, Hawaii
| 1,008,560
| Hawaiian, Southwest
|-
| 2
| Los Angeles, California
| 345,310
| Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, United, Southwest
|-
| 3
| Seattle–Tacoma, Washington
| 301,360
| Alaska, Delta, Hawaiian
|-
| 4
| San Francisco, California
| 232,090
| Alaska, Hawaiian, United
|-
| 5
| Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
| 141,580
| Hawaiian, Mokulele, Southwest
|-
| 6
| Lihue, Hawaii
| 132,330
| Hawaiian, Southwest
|-
| 7
| Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona
| 123,730
| American, Hawaiian, Southwest
|-
| 8
| Las Vegas, Nevada
| 122,790
| Hawaiian, Southwest
|-
| 9
| Denver, Colorado
| 114,870
| United
|-
| 10
| Portland, Oregon
| 109,260
| Alaska
|}
Airline market share
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%" width= align=
|+ Largest airlines at OGG (June 2024 – May 2025)
Accidents and incidents
thumb|N73711 at Kahului in February 1988, two months later it emergency landed at the same airport in Flight 243
Aloha Airlines Flight 243
On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737-200 inter-island flight from Hilo Airport to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and six crew members, experienced explosive decompression when an 18-foot section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the aircraft. A flight attendant was sucked out of the aircraft and died. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries including massive head wounds. The aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Kahului Airport. Noise created by the rush of air rendered vocal communication impossible, and the pilots had to use hand signals during landing.
Investigations of the disaster, headquartered at Honolulu International Airport, concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue. The disaster caused most major United States air carriers to evaluate their older aircraft models.
Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712
On October 28, 1989, Aloha IslandAir Flight 1712, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, collided with mountainous terrain near Halawa Valley, Molokai, while en route on a scheduled passenger flight from Kahului Airport to Molokai Airport in Hoolehua.
All 20 aboard the aircraft died. Thirteen of the victims were from Molokai, including eight members of the Molokai High School boys' and girls' volleyball teams and two faculty members. The girls' team had just qualified on Maui for the state tournament.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the cause of the accident was the airplane's controlled flight into terrain as a result of the decision of the captain to continue to operate the flight under visual flight rules at night into instrument meteorological conditions, which obscured rising mountainous terrain.
Hawaii Air Ambulance
On March 8, 2006, a Hawaii Air Ambulance Cessna 414 was making an approach to Runway 5 when it crashed into a BMW dealership about a mile from the airport. A pilot and two paramedics were killed in the accident.
See also
- List of airports in Hawaii
References
External links
- Kahului Airport (information)