Old Kona Airport

The airport was closed because it was replaced by a larger, more modern facility. The Old Kona Airport's runway, at approximately 3,800 feet, was too short to accommodate the larger jet aircraft (like the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8) that were becoming standard for mainland US travel. To support the burgeoning tourism industry and allow for direct flights, the new Keāhole Airport (now the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole, ICAO: PHKO) was constructed a few miles to the north with a significantly longer runway.

The site has been completely repurposed and is now the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area, a popular public park. The former runway is used as an access road, a vast parking lot, a popular path for walking and jogging, and a venue for community events like sanctioned drag races. The surrounding area includes a beach park (Kailua Park, also known as Old A's), picnic pavilions, restrooms, soccer and baseball fields, and a skate park. The original terminal building has been preserved and is now used as the Makaʻeo Events Pavilion, hosting various community functions and gatherings.

Opened in 1949, the Old Kona Airport was the primary air gateway to the Kona coast for over two decades. Its construction was a pivotal event that transformed Kailua-Kona from a remote fishing village into a major international tourist destination. The airport primarily handled inter-island flights operated by carriers such as Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines, using propeller aircraft like the Douglas DC-3 and later turboprops like the Vickers Viscount and Fairchild F-27. It was instrumental in the development of the resorts and communities along the coast by making the area easily accessible to visitors.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport. It has been fully integrated into the community as a vital recreational area. The modern and much larger Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (PHKO) effectively serves all of the region's commercial, cargo, and general aviation needs, making the reopening of the old, smaller airport both unnecessary and logistically impossible given its current use.