LIHU‘E — The number of people getting off domestic flights at Lihu‘e Airport climbed to the highest total of the year, ranking among the top five measurements of all time.
A total of 84,191 passengers deplaned domestic flights in July, compared with 96,227 in July 2022, according to data compiled by the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism. That marked the second month in a row the passenger count has exceeded 80,000 at the airport.
The July passenger count also ranks as the fourth highest total recorded at the airport. The July 2022 total of 96,227 is the highest of all time, followed by 95,824 in June 2022 and 84,677 in July 2021.
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 seven-month period ended July 31, the domestic passenger count measured 503,699. That was down 6.97 percent from 541,449 in the seven-month period ended July 31, 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.
Looking ahead, the month of August is off to a strong start with a daily average of 2,868 over the opening six days. That is well above the daily average of 2,716 set in July.
The early August daily average got a huge boost on the fourth day of the month, when a total of 3,827 passengers deplaned domestic flights at the airport.
Should that number hold up, it would mark the highest one-day domestic passenger count total ever recorded at the airport. Data is subject to revision.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
