LIHU‘E — For the first time in months, the number of people getting off domestic flights at Lihu‘e Airport was lower than the same comparable period a year earlier.
A total of 55,966 passengers off-boarded domestic flights in February, compared with 57,897 passengers in February 2022, according to data compiled by the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism.
The drop off ended a streak that dated back to March 2021, a few months before the tourism rebound began in earnest on the island of Kaua‘i in summer 2021.
“December and January tend to be your stronger months,” said Carl Bonham, executive director of The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i. “And when you get into February, you are almost automatically going to see a drop off.”
December and January were strong indeed, with record numbers of people off-boarding domestic flights at the airport, according to data going back to 2010. Domestic deplanements measured 75,505 in December 2022, which topped the previous high for the month of 70,798 in December 2021.
The strong finish to the year helped push the passenger count past 900,000 for the first time in an annual period, as it ended up at 910,558 for the 12-months ended Dec. 31, 2022. The previous high of 772,705 was set in 2018, followed by 770,934 in 2019, department data showed.
In January, domestic deplanements weighed in at 62,903. That marked the only time the passenger count exceeded 60,000 in the month of January. But February was less eventful, while early figures from March are tracking at about the same pace as in March 2022.
Of note, the passenger counts only count direct domestic flights, including Kaua‘i residents returning home, and exclude visitors arriving by inter-island air.
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
