DALLAS — Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA) at Keahole in Hawaii was closed last night due to cracks in the runway. It was initially reported that it was a 10-foot by 10-foot area that has since been extended to a 20-foot by 10-foot area.

As of midnight, West Coast time, the airport reported that it hopes that the single airport runway will reopen for normal operations in the morning hours.

The project to reconstruct the 11,000-foot runway at KOA was scheduled for this year. Daily, KOA typically handles about 63 flights between passengers and cargo.

Flight Cancellations

Boeing made a stop on its way to Wings India 2024 with the Boeing 777-9X. However, it seems unlikely that its visit had any impact on the runway.

Kona Airport is on an island with a very active volcano. That seems to be the likely reason why the runway had crack issues. Both Hawaiian Airlines (HA) and Alaska Airlines (AS) have canceled flights to KOA going into Tuesday.

In a statement last night, HA said that five interisland flights and our flight to Los Angeles from Kona had been impacted. "Guests booked to travel to or from Kona later this evening should not come to the airport. We are working closely with the state to determine when the runway will reopen and will provide further updates, including for travel tomorrow, as soon as they are available.”

Featured image: Kona International Airport. Photo: Brandon Farris/Airways