PO’IPU – State Rep. Bertha Kawakami thinks it may be a good idea to expand Lihu’e Airport to handle more transpacific air traffic. Even though the airport isn’t in her district, and she considers the expansion possibility more a county
PO’IPU – State Rep. Bertha Kawakami thinks it may be a good idea to expand Lihu’e Airport to handle more transpacific air traffic.
Even though the airport isn’t in her district, and she considers the expansion possibility more a county than state issue, she answered the question about airport growth while addressing a gathering of the Po’ipu Beach Resort Association at Plantation Gardens restaurant here last week.
The timing may be right, she said, with Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines both expanding service to various West Coast destinations on the mainland.
And some of her constituents on the west side growing various fruits and vegetables would love having more non-stop flights to mainland markets for their goods, added the 14th District Democrat.
Airport expansion plans floated by the state Department of Transportation for Kaua’i and Maui have met with stiff resistance from local residents.
Community concerns, including the chances of alien wildlife establishing footholds in the state, the potential of increased drug traffic and mass tourism disrupting the quality of life, prompted Governor Ben Cayetano to drop – at least for now – any Lihu’e Airport runway expansion proposals.
Staff writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) and mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net
