LIHU‘E — The number of people getting off domestic passenger flights at Lihu‘e Airport dropped to its lowest level for the first full month of spring since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 59,481 passengers off-boarded domestic flights in April, compared with 69,942 in April 2023, according to data compiled by the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism. That marked a decrease of 14.95 percent in the period.
The daily average for the month of April was 1,983 off-boarded passengers with no single day getting above 3,000.
The busiest day was Saturday, April 6, when the passenger count measured 2,911. The slowest day was Wednesday, April 24, when the passenger was 1,542.
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 6.61 percent to 247,363 in the four-month period ended April 30 from 264,880 in the four-month period ended April 30, 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.
