LIHU‘E — The number of passengers getting off domestic plane flights at Lihu‘e Airport last month was the best to begin an annual period at the transportation facility.
A total of 62,903 passengers off-boarded domestic flights in January, compared with 56,390 in January 2022, according to data compiled by the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism.
That marked an increase of 6,513, or 11.59 percent, in the period. The January 2023 total slotted in well above the previous high of 57,594, which was posted in January 2020. Data is subject to revision.
The boost in passengers was most likely the result of daily life returning to more normal-like conditions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which still weighed heavily at the start of 2022.
“The numbers are up compared to last year. … The reason for that is we had the omnicron wave,” said Peter Fuleky, an associate professor with the Economic Research Organization of the University of Hawaii’s Department of Economics.
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 passenger counts only count direct domestic flights, including Kaua‘i residents returning home, and exclude visitors arriving by inter-island air.
Each of the neighboring islands tracked by the department also fared well last month, with O‘ahu topping the list with a domestic passenger count of 430,302 in January, compared with 353,915 in January 2022. The Maui passenger count climbed to 181,688 from 150,835 in the same period, while the Hawai‘i Island count rose to 87,611 from 79,006.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
