Port Allen Airport is a regional airport of the State of Hawai'i. It is located southwest of the unincorporated town of Hanapepe on the south shore of the island of Kauai. Most flights to Port Allen Airport originate from commuter airports on the other Hawaiian islands by unscheduled air taxis and general aviation. It is included in the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

facility.

History

The 1928 the Territorial legislature allotted $15,000 to establish an airport on Kauai, and purchased land at its present site. The first flight from Port Allen Airport, by

Inter-Island Airways 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 ...

, was in November 1929.

Facilities and aircraft

Port Allen Airport covers an area of at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

. It has one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

designated 9/27 with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

surface measuring . The airport has separate parking areas for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters and a public parking area. There are no other public facilities at the airport. Access to the airport is provided by Kaalani Road, which connects the airport with Lolokai Road and Highway 50. Adjacent to the airport are the salt ponds at Hanapepe where paakai is prepared. The principal planned improvements are the development of helicopter lease lots to the eastern end of the airport, construction of public comfort stations and minor roadway improvements. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2008, the airport had 5,535 aircraft operations, an average of 15 per day: 59%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

, 40%

, and 1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. At that time there were 10 aircraft based at this airport: 40%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, 10%

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

and 50%

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

Authority

Port Allen Airport is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawaii. The official authority of Port Allen Airport is the

Governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii ( haw, Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi) is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a direct ...

. The governor appoints the Director of the Hawai'i State Department of Transportation who has jurisdiction over the Hawaii Airports Administrator. The Hawai'i Airports Administrator oversees six governing bodies: Airports Operations Office, Airports Planning Office, Engineering Branch, Information Technology Office, Staff Services Office, Visitor Information Program Office. Collectively, the six bodies have authority over the four airport districts in Hawai'i: Hawai'i District, Kauai District, Mau'i District and the principal O'ahu District. Port Allen Airport is a subordinate of the Kauai District officials.

References

External links

Port Allen Airport (PAK)
at Hawaii DOT *
{{authority control Airports in Hawaii Transportation in Kauai County, Hawaii Buildings and structures in Kauai County, Hawaii Airports established in 1929 1929 establishments in Hawaii