LIHU‘E — The number of people offboarding domestic flights at Lihu‘e Airport climbed to its highest reading of the year last month, as the summer tourism season took flight on the island of Kaua‘i.
A total of 80,374 passengers deplaned domestic flights in June, according to data compiled by the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism.
That marked the first time this year that the passenger count exceeded 80,000 in a single month.
However, the passenger count in June was 16.1 percent lower than the 95,824 passengers notched in June 2022, which stood as a record for one month before being eclipsed by a count of 96,227 passengers in July 2022.
The count only includes passengers from direct domestic flights, including Kaua‘i residents returning home, and excludes the thousands of visitors arriving by inter-island air each month.
That means visitors arriving from neighboring islands aren’t accounted for in the domestic deplanement total even if their flight originated in the Lower 48, nor are passengers on flights from Canada.
For the six-month period ended June 30, the passenger count measured 419,234 at Lihu‘e Airport. That was down 5.83 percent from 445,222 in the six-month period ended June 30, 2022.
Of note, the passenger count exceeded 900,000 for the first time in an annual period last year, as it ended up at 910,558 for the 12-months ended Dec. 31, 2022. The previous high of 772,705 was set in 2018, followed by 770,934 in 2019, department data showed. Data is subject to revision.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
