"Jimmy" Hogg, a Kauai native who worked for what is now Hawaiian Airlines, flying aircraft ranging from eight-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibians to Douglas DC-3s and DC-9s into the late 1960s.

[6][7] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a medium-hub primary commercial service facility.

The Kahului Airport terminal building has ticketing, USDA agricultural inspection, and baggage claim areas on the ground level.

In 1982–83 Kahului started receiving nonstop flights from the United States mainland using much larger transoceanic aircraft.

[citation needed] Current flights from Canada use United States border preclearance facilities in Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton.

Under the December 2016 Kahului Airport Master Plan Update, two more aircraft parking positions would be added to the thirteen existing for the main passenger terminal.

[11] For noise abatement, flights taking off from Runway 2 are directed to climb straight ahead after takeoff until clear of the shoreline by 1 mile (1.6 km) before making any turns.

[13] Under the OGG Master Plan, Runway 2 would be lengthened (to the south) to 8,530 ft (2,600 m) by 2021, allowing operations with long-distance aircraft carrying a full load of fuel at maximum take-off weight.

[10] Runway 2 has been experiencing pavement distress since 2008, and reconstruction to a concrete surface (from the present grooved asphalt) is recommended.

[11] As a result of the passage of Hawaii State Legislature bills in 1998 and 2001, Kahului is planned to undergo expansion for new, larger facilities, lengthening of runways, increasing of fuel storage capacities, and construction of new access roads.

[14] Construction on the new Airport Access Road began in November 2013,[15] and was completed in July 2016 at a cost of $56 million funded, from rental car facility charges.

Noise created by the rush of air rendered vocal communication impossible, and the pilots had to use hand signals during landing.

Investigations of the disaster, headquartered at Honolulu International Airport, concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue.

The disaster caused most major United States air carriers to evaluate their older aircraft models.

On October 28, 1989, Aloha Island Air Flight 1712, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, collided with mountainous terrain near Halawa Valley, Molokai, while en route on a scheduled passenger flight from Kahului Airport to Molokai Airport in Hoolehua.

[31] On March 8, 2006, a Hawaii Air Ambulance Cessna 414 was making an approach to Runway 5 when it crashed into a BMW dealership about a mile from the airport.