HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Kona’s international airport is closed through Monday evening after cracks were discovered on the runway Monday, triggering a growing number of flight delays.
The state Transportation Department said the airport shut down operations at 4:20 p.m. Monday.
“HDOT is measuring the usable runway length and will provide the information to airline operators to determine how to reopen the runway while restricting planes from the damaged areas,” the state said, in a release.
“HDOT is also working with contractors to mill and resurface the affected area.”
As of 7 p.m. Hawaiian Air said they are canceling remaining flights to and from Kona Monday evening.
Hawaiian Air officials said currently, five interisland flights and a flight from Los Angeles to Kona have been impacted.
Hawaiian Air said guests booked to travel to or from Kona later this evening should not come to the airport.
Kona is Hawaii Island’s busiest airport and has an 11,000-foot runway.
The state said there was previous concern about the runway and a project was planned to reconstruct it.
“Cracks had developed and the runway pavement degradation had accelerated due to the recent rains,” the state Transportation Department said.
This story will be updated.
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