Kaanapali Airport was a small regional airport located on the northwest end of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

, near the city of

Lahaina Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...

and north of Kaanapali Beach in Honokōwai. The airport serviced West Maui between 1965 and its closure in 1986.

History

The exact date of the airport's construction is unknown, but was presumably built to transport workers to develop Kaanapali into a resort by

Amfac, Inc. Amfac, Inc., formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld and Company, was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1849 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five (Hawaii), Big Five ...

around 1961. It was not shown on the 1961

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

topographic map.

Commercial airline service

Royal Hawaiian Air Service was the only commuter airline authorized to use the airport, although

Federal Express FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

also used it. According to one private pilot, the airport "had no markings to indicate that it was restricted or private use only, (but when) my wife and I landed a rented Piper Cherokee on this airstrip in August 1970 while on our honeymoon... we were not well received and were politely but firmly asked to leave." The airport was one of the most challenging locations to fly because of its short runway, which began just beyond Kaanapali Beach and cut a narrow swath through high green

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

fields. Because the airport was near the edge of a wind shadow, where the West Maui Mountains shielded the airport from the trade winds, the winds at the airport could range from calm to breezy depending on the wind direction. Around 1983, Royal Hawaiian acquired two

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

capable

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

turboprop aircraft, which flew nearly exclusively on the Honolulu to Kaanapali route. While the aircraft carried more passengers than the

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

twin prop aircraft that the airline routinely operated, they were vulnerable to gusty winds and would not be used on the Kaanapali Airport route on particularly windy days.

Airport closure

In 1986, the airport was closed to make room for a planned hotel project. A new airport was built by

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airl ...

inland of the

Hawaii Route 30 Hawaii Route 30, also known as the Honoapi'ilani Highway, is a road on West Maui, Hawaii. It begins in downtown Wailuku, extending south through Waikapu and Maalaea. The Olowalu Tunnel, located at mile 10.4, is long. Following terrain of t ...

on land of the

Maui Land & Pineapple Company Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. (ML&P, ) is a land holding and operating company founded in 1909 and based in Kapalua, Hawaii, United States. It owns approximately on the island of Maui. It develops, sells, and manages residential, resort, co ...

. It was named the Kapalua-West Maui Airport in recognition of the

Kapalua Resort Kapalua Resort is a golf and beach resort in Kapalua, Hawaii on the northwest shore of the island of Maui near Lahaina, Hawaii. It is owned by Maui Land & Pineapple Company. Description Surrounded by from the verdant mountain ridges and summit o ...

owned by the same parent company. The beach front of the old airfield site is now the new Honua Kai condominium complex, as well as the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas timeshare complex. Public access is via the small Alii Kahekili Nui Ahumanu Beach Park, known as Airport Beach. On March 1, 1987,

initiated service West Maui at the new airport with 50-seat,

capable

de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, d ...

turboprop aircraft.Kapalua Airport - Hawaii Airports
/ref> Royal Hawaiian Air Service ceased operations soon afterward, as its service from the Kaanapali Airport had been its main profit source.

References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in Maui County, Hawaii Defunct airports in Hawaii Airports established in 1965 1965 establishments in Hawaii Airports disestablished in 1986 1986 disestablishments in Hawaii