Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Confusing airport signs
to be changedQuestion: Why don't the new signs at Honolulu Airport indicate "arrival" or "departure"? You see signs that say "ticketing" and "baggage claim" instead, but you have to think about it. Why don't they just say "arrivals" and "departures"?
Answer: State Airports Administrator Davis Yogi agrees and says the airport will be making changes to several signs, including restoring the terms "Departures" and "Arrivals" on the key signs that greet people as they approach the terminal.
This was decided after reading and hearing "rib-jabbing comments about the signs" and driving through the terminal himself.
Asked why the headings were changed, Yogi said it resulted from a meeting of airport "stakeholders" -- groups that have an interest in the airport. (Yogi took over as airports administrator last November, after the sign changes had been approved.)
The airlines, for example, expressed concern that passengers were approaching agents asking where ticketing, not departures, was, he said.
"Unfortunately, it (the meeting) did not include the public," he said, adding that he will be looking to see how decisions could be more "collaborative" in the future.
Funding will limit the number of signs that can be redone initially, he said, with additional work being done as money becomes available.
Yogi also noted concerns expressed by the Outdoor Circle about the bright color of the new signs -- sort of a fluorescent yellow-green. However, he said there are no plans to immediately repaint them because of the investment already made in choosing that color.
In the meantime, officials are continuing to talk with the Outdoor Circle about the color, "and they're open-minded about when we could (change it)." He's hoping to "do it on a natural change," when the signs begin to wear out.
But first, he said he wanted to find out what the reason was in choosing the new color, which he understood was also a result of a meeting of the airport "stakeholders."
While the new signs may be confusing, Yogi said if drivers slowed down to the posted 15 mph limit, it would not only help them read the signs, but also make changing lanes safer.
"Most if not all (drivers) travel faster than the posted speed limit to meet or drop off passengers at their scheduled flights," he said.
Meanwhile, the state will also review relocating the signs that tell motorists to reduce speed to 15 mph from their present locations to areas that will provide drivers advance notice to slow down as they approach the terminal, Yogi said.
Q: Are they still recruiting for airport security jobs? What phone number can I call?
A: The number to call for airport security screener jobs is 800-887-1895.
There currently are no openings for that position at Honolulu Airport.
You can also check the Web site for the Transportation Security Administration to keep track of job openings at tsacareers.recruitsoft.com. At the bottom of the page, you can sign up to receive notification of openings via e-mail.
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Useful phone numbers
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Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com