History
The centerpiece of our state airport system is Honolulu International Airport.
Since it was first designed and developed 80 years ago, Honolulu’s airport has been reinvented time and again – driven by advancing technology and changing patterns of commercial air travel.
In 1927, it was called John Rogers Field, after a pioneer of Pacific air flight. Back then many of the aircraft were seaplanes that landed in Keehi Lagoon. With the end of World War II, the age of commercial air travel began and Rogers Field was expanded and renamed “Honolulu International Airport.”
In 1959 the first commercial jet flight landed at Honolulu Airport triggering a new round of redevelopment to accommodate the new aircraft and increased passenger traffic. We dedicated the Overseas Terminal in 1962 and completed the reef runway fifteen years later in 1979. And during the first half of the 1990’s we opened the Interisland Terminal, the Makai Pier and three new gates on the Ewa Concourse.
But the next round of planned improvements was short-circuited by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Today, HNL is one of the busiest airports in the world, with many unique and wonderful aspects; yet, a number of airport features, including gates and concourses, are over 30 years old and in need of replacement or refurbishment with modern, secure and convenient facilities.
