Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, sits on the windward eastern shore of the island of Hawaii, serving the city of Hilo and the surrounding districts of Hāmākua, Kaʻū and Puna. For a VFR pilot it offers a dramatic approach with Mauna Kea rising in the background, a long jet-capable runway alongside a shorter crosswind strip, and a history stretching back to the earliest days of Hawaiian inter-island aviation.
Hilo International Airport is a state-owned, publicly operated airfield on the Big Island of Hawaii, run by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. Known for most of the twentieth century as General Lyman Field, it now handles interisland airline services and limited transpacific flights, alongside general aviation and military traffic. Its combination of a long runway suited to large aircraft, an instrument approach, and its striking setting beneath Mauna Kea make it a worthwhile and characterful destination for the simulator pilot exploring the Hawaiian Islands.
The airport lies on the east side of the island of Hawaii, in the city of Hilo, and is one of two international airports serving the island, the other being Kona International Airport on the leeward side. It serves windward Hawaii island, including the districts of Hilo, Hāmākua, Kaʻū and Puna.
The airport has two physical runways. Runway 08/26 is 9,777 ft long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving Runway 26; it handles nearly all air carrier traffic and is capable of accommodating very large aircraft. Runway 03/21 is the shorter crosswind runway, hard-surfaced and lit, with declared lengths of 5,239 ft for Runway 03 and 5,602 ft for Runway 21. Field elevation is 30 ft.
Hilo is served by Honolulu-controlled radio and tower facilities. Tower/CTAF operates on 118.1 MHz, with Ground on 121.9 MHz. ATIS broadcasts on 126.4 MHz, and Approach/Departure is on 119.7 MHz. Honolulu Radio is available on 122.6 MHz. Runway 26 is equipped with an ILS.
Mauna Kea rises prominently to the north-west of the field and serves as a useful landmark for orientation when approaching Hilo from across the island's windward coast.
The airfield originated in 1927 when the Territory of Hawaii legislature authorised funds for a landing strip at Keaukaha, on land belonging to the Hawaiian Homes Commission, with inmates from a nearby prison camp clearing the site. It was dedicated on 11 February 1928 by Major Clarence M. Young, then U.S. Secretary of Aeronautics, and scheduled inter-island service began on 11 November 1929 with Inter-Island Airways, the forerunner of Hawaiian Airlines, flying Sikorsky S-38 aircraft to Honolulu. Development continued through the 1930s and accelerated during the Works Progress Administration years and under wartime Army Engineer expansion following the attack on Pearl Harbor. On 19 April 1943 the field was renamed General Lyman Field in honour of General Albert Kualiʻi Brickwood Lyman. Civilian control returned fully to the territory on 8 April 1952, and a new passenger terminal was dedicated on 5 December 1953. Recognising a coming tourism boom, the territory acquired land in 1958 for a longer runway to permit non-stop flights to the U.S. west coast; the 9,800 ft Runway 8-26 was dedicated on 6 March 1965, and by 1967 new taxiways and aprons allowed overseas jet service, with United Airlines and Pan American World Airways beginning non-stop flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles on 1 October 1967. A new, taller control tower opened on 2 November 1979. In May 1989 the state legislature renamed the airport Hilo International Airport, both to update its image and to align its name with its geographical location.
Hilo International Airport remains part of the State of Hawaii Airport System, owned and operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation. It continues to serve interisland airline traffic together with limited mainland flights, alongside general aviation and military operations.