Upper Paauau Airport

Economic. The airport was a private agricultural airstrip built and operated exclusively to serve the C. Brewer & Company's Kaʻū Sugar plantation. Its existence was tied to the need for aerial application on the sugarcane fields. When the plantation shut down due to economic unprofitability, the airstrip lost its sole purpose and was subsequently abandoned.

The site is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals a distinct, paved runway that is now in a state of decay. The asphalt is cracked, and vegetation is encroaching from the sides and growing through the surface. There are no remaining hangars or support buildings. The surrounding land, which was once vast sugarcane fields, has been converted to other agricultural uses, primarily macadamia nut orchards and coffee farms. The runway is an isolated remnant within this private agricultural land and is not used for any purpose.

Upper Paauau Airport was a vital piece of infrastructure for Hawaii's sugar industry in the Kaʻū district. It was one of several private airstrips in the area used for agricultural aviation. Its primary function was to support large-scale sugarcane cultivation through aerial application. Agricultural aircraft, such as Piper Pawnee and Cessna AgWagon planes operated by companies like Murrayair Ltd., used the strip for crop dusting, fertilizing, and spraying herbicides. This allowed for the efficient management of thousands of acres of sugarcane, which was the economic backbone of the Pahala community for over a century.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Upper Paauau Airport. The economic driver for its existence—the large-scale sugar plantation—is gone. The land is privately owned, the infrastructure is derelict, and there is no public or commercial demand for an airstrip at this remote location. Reactivation would require a complete reconstruction of the runway and a new economic purpose, neither of which is foreseeable.