Kona Airport (KOA) Information

Where is Kona Airport? KOA Kona International Airport (IATA: KOA, ICAO: PHKO, FAA LID: KOA) is an airport on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Kona Airport is located at Keahole (Keāhole), in Kalaoa CDP, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. The airport serves leeward, or Western Hawaii island (the Big Island of Hawaii), including the town of Kailua-Kona and the major resorts of the North Kona and South Kohala districts. KOA Airport is located seven miles from Kailua, and about 25 miles from Waikoloa.

Kona KOA Airport is offically named Kona International Airport at Keahole, and may also be referred to as Kona Airport at Keahole, Keahole-Kona Airport, Keahole Airport, Kohala Airport, Kailua-Kona Airport (or even Kailua Airport). Kona Airport is one of two major airports on Hawaii Island, the other being Hilo International Airport (ITO), which serves most of windward, or Eastern Hawaii Island. In modern times, Hawaiʻi Island is known as the "Big Island" to reduce confusion between Hawaiʻi Island and the state.

Kona International Airport is the only remaining major airport in the Hawaiian Islands where a mobile ramp is used to plane and deplane passengers. 1,276,343 passengers boarded flights out of Kona Airport in 2010, making it the third busiest airport in the Hawaiian islands. Much of the KOA Airport's runway is built on a relatively recent lava flow, which in 1801 created Keāhole Point, where the airport is situated (the island still has active volcanoes). Kona Airport sits at an elevation of 47 feet.

Rather than forcing passengers indoors, the single Kona Airport terminal is a rambling, open-air set of structures. The tropical style facilities make both arriving and departing a pleasant experience.

 

Services at Kona International Airport include:

• Visitor Information - 07:45 to 21:00 daily (telephone available when unstaffed)
• Lei stands
• Bar, restaurant and newsstand
• Postal services - a drop-off mail box
• Tip: even though the airport is open-air, smokers should not be fooled: the facility is non-smoking

 

The excellent Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center is located at the KOA Kona International Airport. This educational facility dedicated to the memory of Hawaii’s first astronaut who perished aboard the Challenger Mission in 1986. The Center’s interactive exhibits and videos tell the history of manned space flight, physics and daily life in space. There are artifacts here that you will not see elsewhere; the museum is truly worth a visit. Open daily 08:30- 16:30 pm (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day). Adults/seniors USD 3, Students/children 12 years and under USD 1.

Additional Kona Airport information may be found by visiting their official website below.

• Official KOA Kona International Airport Website