LIHU‘E — A wave of visitors to the island of Kaua‘i in November lifted the passenger count into rarefied air at Lihu‘e Airport, which set an annual record for the number of deplanements with one month to go in 2022.
A total of 68,479 deplaned from domestic flights at the airport in November, compared with 65,549 in November 2021, according to data compiled by the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism.
That brought the number of deplanements to 835,105 for the 11-month period ended Nov. 30. That marked the first time the passenger count has surpassed 800,000 for an annual period at the airport, according to records dating back to 2009.
The previous high of 772,705 was set in 2018, followed by 770,934 in 2019, department data showed. Data is subject to revision.
“Looks like Kaua‘i’s visitor numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels, at least on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said Carl Bonham, executive director of the Economic Research Organization of the University of Hawai‘i, on the driving force behind rising passenger counts.
Visitors have been flocking to Kaua‘i in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by passenger deplanements being up every month this year when compared to the same months of 2021.
The busiest month of the year, thus far, was July, when 96,227 passengers deplaned from domestic flights, followed by June with 95,824 and August at 83,331.
Neighboring islands also posted solid totals last month, with all but one seeing an increase in counts. O‘ahu, as per usual, recorded the highest number of passenger deplanements at 408,050 in November, which was up from 373,284 in November 2021.
A total of 177,597 deplaned from domestic flights on Maui in November, up from 170,834 in November 2021. And, 80,209 passengers deplaned on Hawai‘i Island last month, compared with 86,790 in November 2021. The average daily totals worked out to 13,602 on O‘ahu, 5,920 on Maui, 2,674 on Hawai‘i Island and 2,283 on Kaua‘i.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
Government and private companies have no respect for the citizens and guests who just want a peaceful stay or Sunday on Kauai with Cruise lines and airlines bringing choking traffic, overcrowded markets and jet noise in excess of what is tolerable…
Something is going to give as prices continue to rise far beyond reason, why would people recommend Kauai over Big Island or Asia???
Paradise is lost.
SouthWest Airlines. cheap tickets to all islands. As you may have already known the Max 8 Boeing 737, 175 seat airline has been fixed. I Already flew on it, SouthWest Airlines. The cause of the scare was a crash on October 2018 by Lion Air in Jakarta, Indonesia and March 10, 2019 Ethiopia, Same model airline. 189 passengers and 157 passengers and crew all died on these respective flights,
Flying on SouthWest again. And going to Lihue and possibly Las Vegas because we have time off and not working yet. Pandemic. This month and probably few months after. SouthWest Airlines looks like a good deal.
Proud of your “good deal”…. Hidey?*;(-;:,*-:(♤
There you have it Mayor, the visitor you solicited for during covid lockdown.
Thank you for the report. Average daily total for Kaua’i is only 2,283 in November 2021. This is like a ghost town. Some are residents. Some are tourist. In reality, your hotels are empty. Where’s the money coming from? If not from tourism, no where. In 2022, it hasn’t jumped any higher because people will go to Oahu first then to Kaua’i. This transfer is the problem. In reality not a lot of tourism yet going around. The mark is 30 million visitors for one year. 2016, Hawai’i News Now website had it at just a little over 9 million visitors in one year.
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