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Lihue Airport

*Kahua Mokulele o Līhuʻe*
Lihue Airport; Kahua Mokulele o Līhuʻe
	Runway 03/21 and the passenger terminal in background; fire station in foreground
	IATA: LIH; ICAO: PHLI; FAA LID: LIH; WMO: 91165;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Hawaii Department of Transportation
Serves	Kauai
Location	Lihue, Hawaii
Elevation AMSL	153 ft / 47 m
Coordinates	21°58′34″N 159°20′20″W / 21.97611°N 159.33889°W
Website	hawaii.gov/lih
Maps
	; FAA airport diagram
Runways
Helipads
Statistics (2023)
Total passengers
Total passengers	3,713,014
Aircraft operations	115,545
Based aircraft (2022)	46
	Source: Federal Aviation Administration, Lihue Airport

Lihue Airport (IATA: LIH, ICAO: PHLI, FAA LID: LIH) is a state-owned public-use airport located in the Līhuʻe CDP on the southeast coast of the island of Kauaʻi in Kauai County, Hawaiʻi, United States, two nautical miles east of the center of the CDP.^[1]^[3]

The airport does not serve as a hub for any airline carrier. Numerous inter-island flights are available daily on Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines, and major US and Canadian airlines operate flights on narrow-body aircraft to major cities in western mainland North America.

The airport is mostly un-walled and open-air, and the check-in is completely outside. The airport is the primary gateway to Kauai for visitors (especially tourists), and has several rental car facilities. Five motion pictures have filmed scenes at the Lihue Airport: Blue Hawaii, Honeymoon in Vegas, Six Days Seven Nights, Soul Surfer, and The Descendants.

It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.^[4]

Facilities and aircraft

Lihue Airport covers an area of 915 acres (370 hectares) at an elevation of 153 feet (47 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways designated 3/21 and 17/35, each measuring 6,500 by 150 feet (1,981 by 46 m). The airport also has one helipad measuring 64 by 64 feet (20 by 20 m).^[1]^[5]

For the 12-month period ending on August 5, 2022, the airport had 109,650 aircraft operations, an average of 300 per day: 61% air taxi, 28% scheduled commercial, 10% general aviation and 1% military. At that time there were 46 aircraft based at this airport: 19 single-engine, 5 multi-engine and 22 helicopter.^[1]

On a typical day, certain gates are used for certain airlines to arrive in and depart out of the Lihue Airport. Gates 9-10 are mostly used by United Airlines, flying Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-900ER aircraft along with occasionally using the Boeing 757-200. Alaska Airlines occasionally uses Gate 9 as well. Gates 7-8 are mostly used by Delta Air Lines using the Airbus A321neo, Alaska Airlines using Boeing 737 aircraft, Southwest Airlines and WestJet. Hawaiian Airlines uses both Boeing 717 and Airbus A321 aircraft for gates 3-4, and 5-6 for their inter-island and US mainland flights, according to the airline staff. American Airlines mostly uses Gate 3 and occasionally Gate 4, using the Airbus A321 to fly in and out of Lihue. All gate areas are air-conditioned.

Hawaiian Airlines operates one Premier Lounge at the airport, open to first class travelers.^[6]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Alaska Airlines	San Diego, San Francisco (begins June 13, 2025),^[7] San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma Seasonal: Portland (OR)
American Airlines	Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Delta Air Lines	Los Angeles, Seattle/Tacoma
Hawaiian Airlines	Honolulu, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento^[8]
Southwest Airlines	Honolulu, Kahului, Las Vegas, Oakland Seasonal: Los Angeles
United Airlines	Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco
WestJet	Seasonal: Vancouver

Statistics

Passenger numbers

Annual passenger traffic at LIH airport. See Wikidata query.

Top domestic destinations

Busiest domestic routes from LIH
(September 2021 – October 2022)^[9]
Rank	City	Passengers	Airlines
1	Honolulu, HI	615,810	Hawaiian, Southwest
2	Los Angeles, CA	272,470	American, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest, United
3	Seattle, WA	143,870	Alaska, Delta
4	Kahului, HI	115,430	Hawaiian, Southwest
5	San Francisco, CA	93,710	United
6	Oakland, CA	92,850	Hawaiian, Southwest
7	Phoenix, AZ	73,560	American
8	San Jose, CA	56,700	Alaska, Southwest
9	Denver, CO	51,300	United
10	San Diego, CA	49,770	Alaska

Airline market share

**Busiest airlines serving LIH (March 2021 – February 2022)**^[10]
Rank	Airline	Passengers	Share
1	Hawaiian Airlines	1,054,000	43.01%
2	Southwest Airlines	418,000	17.06%
3	United Airlines	334,000	13.61%
4	Alaska Airlines	288,000	11.75%
5	American Airlines	206,000	8.39%
6	Other	151,000	6.18%

Public transport

The Kauaʻi Bus route 100/200 connects the airport to downtown Lihue.

Accidents and incidents

A Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper belonging to the Civil Air Patrol crashed into a chain link fence shortly after takeoff on December 15, 2022. The pilot and his young son suffered non-life threatening injuries.^[11]