Interisle parking closed to workers
The experimental holiday ban applies to airport and airline employees
THE STATE will prohibit airport and airline employees from parking at Honolulu Airport's interisland terminal to make more room for travelers during the busy holiday season.
Starting Saturday, airport workers with monthly parking passes will be directed to the overseas terminal parking structure. State officials said that should open at least 900 stalls in the interisland terminal for travelers.
"We want to make room for the traveling public. They're the No. 1 priority," said Scott Ishikawa, state Department of Transportation spokesman.
Ishikawa said lack of parking in the interisland terminal has been a constant source of complaints. The structure has always filled up quickly on weekdays. But recently, it began to fill up on weekends, too, he said.
There are 1,800 parking stalls in the interisland terminal. The state says at least half of them are filled by airport or airline employees.
"We feel there is enough space in the overseas terminal parking structure," Ishikawa said.
There are 4,100 parking stalls at the airport -- 1,800 in the interisland terminal, 2,000 in a parking structure next to the overseas terminal and 300 in two outdoor lots adjacent to the two structures.
The state said interisland travelers are more likely than overseas travelers to need parking because many take same-day or weekend jaunts and there are more interisland flights. Overseas travelers are more likely to get dropped off at the airport, Ishikawa said.
About 1,700 airport and airline employees pay $100 a month for a Honolulu Airport parking pass. They get a magnetic access card and a sticker for their vehicles.
For pass-holders thinking about parking in the interisland terminal anyway, Ishikawa said the state will have extra security on hand checking the parking lot. And if they are thinking about using a different vehicle, Ishikawa said the state has ways to check for that, too.
Ishikawa said the parking ban experiment will last at least through the holidays.