LIHU‘E — The number of passengers getting off domestic flights at Lihue Airport in the first half of January was well ahead of comparable measurements in previous years, and has the count on pace for its best start to an annual period.
A total of 34,295 people deplaned domestic flights at the airport from Jan. 1 through Jan. 15, according to data compiled by the state of Hawai‘i’s Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism. Data is subject to revision.
By comparison, a total of 30,949 people deplaned domestic flights at the airport from Jan. 1 through Jan. 15, 2020, and 29,338 from Jan. 1 through Jan. 15, 2019. January 2020 and January 2019 rank first and second for the opening month of a year with 57,594 and 55,399 domestic deplanements, respectively.
The strong start in 2023 comes on the heels of a record-setting year, in which the passenger count climbed to 910,558 in the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, 2022.
The total marked the first time the total passenger count exceeded 900,000 in an annual period. The previous high of 772,705 was set in 2018, followed by 770,934 in 2019, department data showed.
Of note, the department data only reflects direct flights “and exclude (s) visitors arriving by inter-island air and also include (s) Kauai residents returning home,” according to Carl Bonham, executive director of The Economic Research Organization of the University of Hawai‘i.
