Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Kapalua Airport (PHJH/JHM) is a small commuter and general aviation field on the northwest coast of Maui, Hawaii, serving the Kapalua resort area a few miles north of Lahaina. Built by Hawaiian Airlines in 1987 to replace the shorter Kaanapali Airport, it remains a single-runway field with a scenic coastal setting that makes it a distinctive stop for VFR pilots island-hopping around Hawaii.
Kapalua Airport, identified as PHJH (IATA JHM), lies on the west side of Maui in the Mahinahina district, serving the resort communities of Kapalua, Kaanapali and Lahaina. It is operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Airports Division, and today handles commuter and air-taxi traffic rather than large jet operations. For a simulator pilot, its appeal lies in the tight single-runway layout hemmed in by the Pacific and the West Maui Mountains, along with its history as a hub for early Hawaiian inter-island STOL and turboprop services.
The airfield sits on Maui's northwest coast, about five nautical miles north of Lahaina, close to the Kapalua Resort, Kaanapali and Honolua Bay. It is an uncontrolled field, with traffic coordinated by pilots on the published CTAF/UNICOM frequency rather than a control tower. The nearest airports with published instrument procedures are Kahului Airport (PHOG), 14 nautical miles to the east, Lanai Airport (PHNY), 19 nautical miles southwest, Kalaupapa Airport (PHLU), 22 nautical miles northwest, Molokai Airport (PHMK), 26 nautical miles northwest, and Hana Airport (PHHN), 38 nautical miles east.
Kapalua has a single physical runway, 02/20, with a hard surface and a length of 3,029 feet in each direction. There is no ILS at the field, and the layout has deliberately been kept to one runway under agreements limiting development at the airport.
Pilots can obtain automated weather from the AWOS on 118.525 MHz. A remote communications outlet, Maui Radio, is available on 123.6 MHz, while the field's combined CTAF/UNICOM frequency is 122.7 MHz. There is no control tower and no instrument landing system at Kapalua; aircraft requiring instrument approaches typically use nearby Kahului Airport instead.
As an uncontrolled aerodrome, Kapalua relies on pilots self-announcing intentions and coordinating on the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 122.7 MHz. Operations at the airport are restricted to daytime hours only, which shapes when arrivals and departures can be planned.
The airport is easily identified from the air by its position on the coast just south of the Kapalua Resort and Honolua Bay, with Kaanapali Beach and the town of Lahaina to the south. The West Maui (Kahalawai) Mountains rise inland to the east, providing a clear backdrop, while the two well-known golf courses of the Kapalua Resort, the Plantation Course and the Bay Course, lie adjacent to the field and serve as useful visual landmarks when inbound from the north or west.
Kapalua Airport opened in 1987, built by Hawaiian Airlines to replace the nearby Kaanapali Airport, whose short runway and prime coastal land were needed for resort development. The airport's identifier, JHM, honours John Henry Magoon, the Hawaiian Airlines president who oversaw its construction. Hawaiian initially operated four-engine de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops on STOL services to Honolulu, the largest aircraft ever to serve the field, until retiring the type in 1994. Aloha Island Air then became the principal operator, flying de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and later DHC-8 Dash 8s to Honolulu under a codeshare with Aloha Airlines, while Mahalo Air also served the airport with ATR 42 turboprops between 1993 and 1997. The State of Hawaii acquired the previously privately owned airport in 1993. Island Air, successor to Aloha Island Air, ended service in 2013 when it switched to ATR-72 aircraft too large for the field. Hawaiian Airlines resumed operations in 2017 using its 'Ohana by Hawaiian' ATR 42-500s, before suspending West Maui services in March 2020 amid the systemwide reduction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout its history, agreements with Maui County have kept the airport restricted to a single runway and modest terminal facilities to prevent further commercial development of the surrounding land.
Kapalua Airport remains part of the State of Hawaii's centralized airport system, owned and operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. Mokulele Airlines provides scheduled commuter service to Honolulu, while Big Island Air and Royal Pacific Air offer unscheduled charter and tour flights. The field has no dedicated air cargo facilities, so arriving freight is unloaded directly onto the ramp. A small snack bar serves passengers, and operations are limited to daytime hours only. The airport recently added electric vehicle fast-charging infrastructure as part of ongoing facility upgrades.