StarBulletin.com

Hilo, Kahului airports closed, others are open


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POSTED: Saturday, February 27, 2010

 

Airport operations were normal across the state today except in Hilo on the Big Island and Kahului, Maui.

The Hilo Airport was closed at 6 a.m. and the road going into the Kahului Airport was closed at 10 a.m.

Anyone landing at Kahului after that time won't be able to leave the airport unless they have a car on the premises or someone is waiting for them, said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Tammy Mori.

Other airports were open but the reef runway was closed at Honolulu Airport.

Mori said the DOT worked with Coast Guard and harbor police early this morning to notify boat owners to leave harbors across the state and most vessels and ground crews left.

The DOT's freeway service patrol, which normally doesn't operate on Saturdays, was reactivated from the University of Hawaii to Waimalu on H1 Freeway and Moanalua because of increased traffic, Mori said.

“;If you don't have to be on the road, don't be on the road,”; she asked, pointing out all roads leading in and out of coastal areas and the inundation zone were closed at 10 a.m. to keep the area clear for people evacuating because of the tsunami.