Hilo International Airport

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Hilo International Airport (IATA: ITO, ICAO: PHTO), formerly General Lyman Field, is a public airport of the State of Hawai'i in Hawai'i County two miles east of the unincorporated area of Hilo in Hawaii County. Most flights to Hilo International Airport are from Honolulu International Airport by the three major Hawai'i-based carriers: Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, and Pacific Wings. Between 2006 and April 2, 2008, ATA Airlines provided daily non-stop service from Oakland, California to Hilo aboard its Boeing 737-800 aircraft, re-establishing direct service from the mainland to Hilo for the first time since 1986.

[edit] Facilities

Hilo International Airport is served by two runways, Runway 8/26 and Runway 3/21. Runway 8/26 is 9,800 feet long and is used for major air carrier operations including the take-off and landing of major commercial jetliners. Runway 3/21 is 5,600 feet long and is used for general aviation operations including take-off and landing of smaller commuter airplanes.

The passenger terminal complex, including commuter facilities, is at the southern edge of Hilo International Airport and is served by an access roadway from Kekuanaoa Avenue, between the passenger terminal complex and the Runway 3/21 to the west. General aviation facilities are located along the eastern edge of Runway 3/21, also served by the terminal access roadway. A parking apron for transient military aircraft is provided at the western edge of the runway. Air cargo facilities are located along Operations Street on the west side of Runway 3/21, site of the old passenger terminals from 1953 to 1975.

[edit] Airlines, terminals and destinations

[edit] Main Passenger Terminal (Gates 3-9)

The main passenger terminal has seven jet bridges and serves all major passenger airlines. All flights operated by Mokulele Airlines depart and arrive from the commuter terminal. Each airline is assigned one gate; Gates 3, 6, 7, and 9 are currently unused.

• Hawaiian Airlines Gate 4 (Honolulu, Kahului, Kona)
• Mesa Airlines Gate 5
  • go! operated by Mesa Airlines (Honolulu)
    • go!Express operated by Mokulele Airlines (Kahului)
• Island Air Gate 8 (Kahului)

[edit] Commuter Terminal

The commuter terminal handles the operations of Mokulele Airlines.

• Mokulele Airlines (charters)

[edit] Disasters

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 from Hilo to Honolulu landed at Kahului Airport in 1988 after its fuselage was torn away during the flight. A flight attendant was sucked out of the plane and killed.

Hilo International Airport was involved in one major air traffic incident that had caused air traffic controllers and its federal emergency officials to be on emergency special alert.

On April 28, 1988, an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 operating Flight 243 from General Lyman Field (as Hilo International Airport was known then) to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and 6 crew members experienced rapid decompression when an 18 feet section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the airplane. One flight attendant was sucked out of the airplane and died. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries including instances of massive head wounds. The aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Kahului Airport on Maui with slight difficulty.

Investigations of the disaster concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue. The disaster caused almost all major United States air carriers to retire their oldest airplane models.

[edit] References

• FAA Airport Master Record for ITO (Form 5010 PDF)

[edit] External links

• Hawaii DOT page for Hilo International Airport
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for PHTO
  • ASN accident history for ITO
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker for PHTO
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations for PHTO
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for ITO
  • Airport information for PHTO at World Aero Data