LIHU‘E — The number of people getting off domestic passenger flights at Lihu‘e Airport sank to its lowest total for the month of March since the COVID-19 era.
A total of 66,037 passengers off-boarded domestic flights in March, compared with 76,069 in March 2023, according to data compiled by the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism. That marked a decrease of 13.18 percent in the period.
The latest figure was also the lowest for the month since March 2021, when 5,061 passengers off-boarded domestic flights at the seaside transportation facility.
The busiest day last month was on Saturday, March 30, when the passenger count measured 3,191. The slowest day of the month was on Tuesday, March 5, when the passenger count was 1,399.
The count only includes passengers from direct domestic flights, including Kaua‘i residents returning home, and excludes the thousands of visitors who arrive by inter-island air each month.
That means visitors who arrive 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.
All told, the passenger count decreased 3.61 percent to 187,882 in the three-month period ended March 31 from 194,938 in the three-month period ended March 31, 2023.
Of note, the domestic passenger count at Lihu‘e Airport notched its second highest total on record in 2023, despite a year-over-year drop in the number of people getting off those flights to the island of Kaua‘i.
The passenger count weighed in at 832,739 for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2023, compared with 910,558 for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2022. That marked a decrease of 8.54 percent in the period.
