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A Maui man pleaded guilty in federal court on April 15, 2026, to being an accessory after the fact to a laser-pointer assault on a federal pilot. Jesse Kong, 30, faces up to 6 months of imprisonment for that crime, according to the US Department of Justice.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation was joined by emergency responders and volunteers in a triennial emergency exercise at Kapalua Airport (JHM) in West Maui on Friday, April 17.

“After 80 years of fixing and milling and filling … the cracks, it’s added useful life. But, we’re at the end of it’s useful life,” said Curt Otaguro, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation’s deputy director for airports. “It’s done.”

A new study on runway safety at US airports shows that Kahului Airport had no high-risk runway incursions between 2021 and 2024. All 11 of the airport’s recorded runway incursions during that four-year period were classified as lower-risk events.

Hawaiian Electric will be installing power line markers also known as bird diverters on its electrical infrastructure using unmanned aircrafts, or drones, in the Launiupoko, West Maui area starting as early as Dec. 15 to Dec. 21, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and weather permitting. Electric service will not be impacted.

Mauiʻs Kahului Airport (OGG) will receive $14.3 million in AIP supplemental grant funds for apron light replacement for enhanced safety. Itʻs one of four airport projects identified in Hawaiʻi to improve operations.

The Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole on Hawaiʻi Island is the recipient of $49.6 million in grant funding from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration. The funds will be used to rehabilitate Runway 17/35 to enhance safety at the facility.

Hawaiian Electric will be using unmanned aircraft, or drones, for aerial inspections of its infrastructure in the Kāʻanapali, West Maui area on Wednesday, April 3, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., weather permitting.

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation advises air travelers of potential flight delays due to the Sentry Aloha fighter exercise that is being hosted by the Hawai‘i Air National Guard through the end of January.

The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering the temporary grounding of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by US airlines or in US territory.

Update: Kahului Airport (OGG) has reopened after the FAA shut down operations for about 30 minutes because of a nearby brushfire. Five inbound Maui flights had to be diverted to the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

US Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) joined colleagues in introducing legislation aimed at improving the infrastructure at airports to make them more resilient to severe weather and natural disaster events.

According to Moniz, the three American Airlines departures from Kahului Airport that were impacted included one flight each to Los Angeles (LAX), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Phoenix (PHX). Those flights are rescheduled to depart early this afternoon.

The Federal Aviation Administration will award $10 million in competitive grant funding — drawn from the landmark $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package — to the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.

The Federal Aviation Administration will install 23 weather cameras across the state that will provide pilots videos of changing weather conditions in near-real-time.

The new legislation also seeks to implement the recommendations made by the NTSB on skydiving flights following an investigation into the skydiving plane crash that tragically killed 11 people in Hawai‘i last year. The bill will standardize maintenance and pilot training programs to meet the unique needs of skydiving operations.

Case said: “Simply put, if passengers do not feel safe coming to Hawai‘i because they fear contracting COVID-19 on the flight or in Hawai‘i, or if Hawai‘i residents do not feel safe with passengers getting off planes in Hawai‘i, air travel to Hawai‘i will not recover leading to many consequences to include FAA and airport-supportive revenues. The same is true throughout the country and so the necessity of safe travel is in all respects a national one which FAA should better face now.”

US Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie K. Hirono of Hawai‘i are calling for an investigation into the Federal Aviation Authority following a new Senate report and whistleblower complaints.

Four Hawaiʻi Senators are calling for an immediate statewide grounding of tour and commercial helicopter operations or a ban flights over residential areas.

Three people are confirmed dead in a helicopter crash in a residential neighborhood in Kailua on Oʻahu, HFD Capt. Scot Seguirant tells Maui Now.