Photo above – Dedication and blessing of the new passenger waiting area at Kahului Airport. Left to right – Ezekiel Kalua, Maui County Mayor’s Office; Rep. Justin Woodson; John Ogoshi, president, Maryl Group; Marvin Moniz, airports district manager, Maui district, Hawai‘i Department of Transportation; Sen. Troy Hashimoto; Dayton Wong, associate, Design Partners, Inc.; Curt Otaguro, deputy director of transportation for airports, Hawai‘i Department of Transportation.
The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) conducted a blessing and dedication ceremony for a new and expanded passenger waiting area at the Kahului Airport (OGG).
The new space, which serves Gates 1 to 15 in the airport’s southern concourse, was constructed by connecting two existing waiting areas, each approximately 6,000 square feet, and enclosing the open-air walkway that separated them. The result is a spacious 17,000-square-feet, air-conditioned area that can seat 460 passengers. In addition, a newly created garden deck provides an outdoor seating option for Kahului passengers.
Other improvements include modifications to the gate service counter areas, passenger loading bridge and cargo ramp, as well as upgrades to the fire alarm, air conditioning, lighting and flight information display systems. Construction began in May 2021 and was completed in November 2024. The total cost of the project was $62 million.
“To help ease the stress of air travel, passengers departing out of Kahului Airport now have more inviting, spacious and comfortable areas – both indoor and outdoor — to relax and unwind before boarding their flight,” said Hawai‘i Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. “The new and expanded waiting area and new outdoor garden deck at Kahului Airport are part of the state’s continuing efforts to modernize our airports statewide and improve the overall experience for the traveling public.”
Kahului Airport, like all of the airports that serve the neighbor islands, was originally built to accommodate interisland flights with capacity of approximately 115 passengers. Current operations include overseas flights to the mainland with capacity of approximately 290 passengers. The newly expanded waiting area is now better suited to accommodate both interisland and mainland flights.
