#Federal Aviation Administration

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.

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 continue to use unmanned aircraft, or drones, for aerial inspections of its infrastructure in various areas of Upcountry Maui on weekdays throughout the month of April, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., weather permitting. The inspections will take place in parts of Olinda, Piʻiholo, Kula, Kēōkea and ʻUlupalakua.

Public comments are due Jan. 17 on Elon Musk’s plans for his SpaceX rockets to splash down in a much wider area, including Hawaiian waters and 240 nautical miles east of the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary.

The officially merged Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines have expanded Hawaiian’s former 64-aircraft fleet into a combined fleet of 350 passenger airplanes, now offering Hawaiʻi residents non-stop or one-stop flights to 128 cities and destinations like Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., Toronto, New Orleans, Costa Rica and Miami. But the airline merger will not bring new air service to Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kapalua or Hāna.

Hawaiian Electric is raising awareness about its drone operations after one of its contracted drones was damaged while midair, downing the tool as it was being used to inspect overhead lines on Maui last week. Company representatives say the drone was purposely targeted. As part of its ongoing wildfire safety strategy, Hawaiian Electric is using unmanned aircrafts, or drones, for aerial inspections within Maui County, Hawai‘i Island and O‘ahu to inspect its electrical infrastructure in identified wildfire risk areas.

The award includes $8.6 million to Kahului Airport for construction of a new two-story security screening checkpoint facility at the south end of the ticket lobby (South TSA Checkpoint). The facility will include six new TSA screening lanes. A pedestrian bridge over the existing service road will connect the new checkpoint facility to Hold Room A.

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.

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.

Councilmember Michael J. Molina transmitted correspondence to the Federal Aviation Administration requesting adjustments to flight patterns over the North Shore/Haʻikū region of Maui.

Hawaiian Electric will be using unmanned aircraft or drones, and a helicopter for its aerial power line inspections throughout the island of Maui on Tuesday, Nov. 17 and Wednesday, Nov. 18 – weather permitting.

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 Sen. Brian Schatz announced today that the airport will receive more than $11 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for “critical improvements.” 

Sen. Mazie Hirono recently sent letters to Robert L. Sumwalt, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Dan Elwell, the Acting Administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration, over safety concerns following a deadly helicopter crash in a residential area of Kailua, Oʻahu. On the morning of April 29, an air tour helicopter operated by […]

Senator Schatz joined in introducing the Airplane Kids In Transition Safety Act, which directs the FAA to update regulations to better serve children in-flight.

An FAA spokesman said the Cessna Caravan took off without clearance from Runway 5 as a Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 was taking off from Runway 2.

Alternatives include determination of flight paths, number of total flights annually, time of day restrictions, and day of week restrictions.