The state Department of Transportation operates three airports on Maui — at Kahului, Hana and Kapalua — but once upon a time their predecessors were airstrips on now flooded Kealia Pond in Maalaea, Puunene near the Maui Humane Society, Hamoa in East Maui and Kaanapali above Kahekili Beach Park.

And there were plans for airports in Keokea near the Hawaiian Home Lands at Waiohuli and near Hanakaoo in Lahaina that were never built.

The DOT has a “Hawaii Aviation: An Archive of Historic Photos and Fact” website, aviation.hawaii.gov/, with lots of information and old photos of the history of flight in the state. There is a section on Maui airports.

The first flight to Maui was by Army Maj. Harold Clark on May 9, 1918, who flew from Oahu in the first interisland flight. He crashed on the slopes of Mauna Kea on his continuation flight and had to walk two days and nights to find help.

The first commercial flight to Maui was by Charles Fern on Feb. 1, 1920, from Kapiolani Park on Oahu to the Kahului Fairgrounds with a refueling stop in a pasture near the Cooke Ranch office on Molokai. Charles Stoffer in 1923 delivered the Sunday newspaper from Oahu to Molokai, then to Camp One near Spreckelsville.

Beginnings of Kahului Airport

Former Maui Community College professor and Kula resident Dick Mayer noted that Maui’s three airports had their origins elsewhere. The state’s second largest airport, Kahului Airport, began in the now water-filled Kealia Pond.

For many years, the pond was referred to as the Mud Flats and was filled intermittently with water. There was a windsock in the flats mauka of North Kihei Road for many years.

On Nov. 11, 1929, Inter-Island Airways with its eight-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibians flew from Honolulu to an unpaved field near Maalaea Bay. The airfield was a problem because it was unusable in wet weather and was close to the West Maui Mountains.

A 1,500-foot-long paved runway was built but became too short for the larger 16-passenger Sikorsky S-43s by 1935.

That led to the opening of Maui Airport in Puunene on June 30, 1939, which led to the permanent closure of the Maalaea airstrip. Improvements were built in subsequent years, such as a radio beacon and a weather station, at Puunene by the Territory of Hawaii.

The Army and Navy took over the airfield after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Runways were extended to 6,000 feet and 7,000 feet.

After the war, the Maui Airport reverted back to control of the Territory. But no more improvements were done because of plans to move commercial operations to the former Naval Air Station in Kahului, which was considered a better location.

The Navy had acquired the NASKA site during World War II, finding the Puunene location inadequate for aircraft carrier training. In June 1952, all airport operations and facilities were transferred from Maui Airport in Puunene to Kahului Airport. The Puunene airport was abandoned in December 1955.

Today, the old Maui Airport runway serves as a drag- racing strip.

Hana Airport

The original airport was a small grass field at Hamoa that was served by Inter-Island Airways from May 1935 to the start of World War II. The narrow strip was only viable for two wind directions and would eventually be recommended as an emergency landing strip only.

Eventually, Hamoa was declared too small for aircraft of the day and could not be expanded. But given the difficult highway travel and the growing Hotel Hana-Maui, scheduled airline travel was deemed necessary.

The Hana Airport at its current location officially opened Nov. 11, 1950. It was built at a cost of $244,000.

A new paved 3,600-by-100-foot runway was completed in 1951 The airport was served three times a week by Hawaiian Airlines and by charter operations. By 1953, Hawaiian offered flights daily except Saturdays.

Kapalua Airport

The Kaanapali Airstrip was built by Amfac for $40,000 to serve its new resort and opened in June 1962. Royal Hawaiian Air Service had a lease agreement to operate the airport and carried per month about 10,000 passengers in and out of Kaanapali by 1980.

Amfac announced in September 1982 that it would close the airstrip as part of its development plans. The airport closed on Jan. 26, 1986.

Hawaiian Airlines chose to fill the void and built the Kapalua Airport for less than $9 million. It opened March 1, 1987.

Original plans called for building the airport closer to town above Launiupoko. Opposition from residents, especially to aircraft noise, nixed that location.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.

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