Honolulu International Airport
| Continent: North America | Country: United States | Region: Hawaii |
| Honolulu International Airport/Hickam Air Force Base | |
| Location | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| IATA code | HNL (Honolulu) HIK (Hickam) |
| ICAO code | PHNL (Honolulu) PHIK (Hickam) |
| Airport type | Mixed-Use Commercial |
| Website | [www.state.hi.us/dot/airports/oahu/hnl/ www.state.hi.us/dot/airports/oahu/hnl/] |
| Overview map | [maps.google.com/maps?q=HNL&ll=21.319361,-157.928724&spn=0.067832,0.118721&t=h&hl=en Google Maps] |
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Honolulu International Airport is the primary gateway to the State of Hawaii, though in recent years, nonstop flights to the outer islands (primarly from North America) have provided alternatives. The field shares runways with Hickam Air Force Base, though the two maintain separate IATA and ICAO identifiers.
Hawaiian Airlines, Aloha Airlines, and Island Air all maintain their hubs at Honolulu, providing connections between their inter-island flights as well as to and from overseas flights.
The airport has four paved runways (8L/26R, 8R/26L, 4L/22R, and 4R/22L) as well as two water runways (8W/26W and 4W/26W). Of these, 8R/26L, known as the Reef Runway, is the most famous as the first runway built entirely offshore, on a coral reef. Normal operations have departures on 8R, with some inter-island flights using 8L. During the day most arrivals will use 8L, while during the night 4R is used to avoid overflying residential areas. During "Kona Wind" conditions, most departures will use 22L and occasionally 26L, and arrivals will use 26L and 26R.
Official Spotting Locations
Location
Unofficial Spotting Locations
Lagoon Dr. Parking Lot
A parking lot at the end of Lagoon Dr. provides a good view of operations on 8R/26L, 4R/22L, and 4L/22R. A fence can obstruct ground-level shots, however for departures on 8R, most aircraft will be high enough that the fence will not be in your shot. When the terror alert level rises to Orange or above, police inspection checkpoints are put up on Lagoon Dr. just past Aolele St., so this spot becomes inaccessable.
To reach this spot, turn makai (towards the sea) from Nimitz Hwy. or Aolele St. onto Lagoon Dr. and follow it until it ends. This location is also accessable by bus: Take route 31 "Kalihi Lagoon Dr" and get off at Lagoon Dr. and Palekona St., then continue walking down Lagoon Dr. to the parking lot.