Idled air travelers find
ways to pass dreary hoursAs the airport reopens, airlines
scramble to accommodate those
who missed flights
While federal and Maui officials investigated yesterday's automobile fire in the terminal of Kahului Airport, passengers had little to do but wait.
Jillian Luis, a Kalaheo girls basketball player, was waiting with her team for a flight to Honolulu after finishing second in a Maui tournament. Team members, and those from Kalani High School, had their bags laden with Krispy Kreme doughnuts for friends on Oahu.
"We had a long trip," Luis said. "We really wanted to get home. Now we're stuck in the commuter terminal."
Many passengers took their rental cars down the street to Costco to have lunch and wait for good news.
But some did not have rental cars. Pasadena, Calif., resident Bill Goodwin, his two brothers and his sister got dropped off at Kahului Airport at 9:30 a.m., then discovered it was closed.
They told their taxi driver to leave, thinking they would wait it out. That was when the rain came, and the group decided to walk to Costco.
"It was kind of a rude awakening," said Goodwin. "Guess we'll go get lunch."
Seattle resident Kelly Black said it has been that sort of trip for her, husband Michael and their 13-month-old son, Joe.
"When we got here last week, we were delayed in Honolulu for an hour and a half," she said. "Then our son had chickenpox and then there were the cockroaches."
"We were supposed to get home at 11:30 p.m. ... I don't think that's going to happen."
Lake Tahoe resident John Chapman waited on the side of the road outside Kahului Airport hoping that security officials made the person who caused the delay just as uncomfortable as he was.
"What I would like to see them do is rather than interview him for five hours, to use dopamine to get the information out of him," Chapman said. "I don't care too much about that guy's freedoms right now."
Flights were halted a little past 8 a.m. yesterday and resumed before 6 p.m. Many visitors missed their connecting flights and returned to their hotels.
When the ticketing counters reopened, passengers dashed to line up.
United Airlines spokeswoman Chris Nardella said crews were hoping to operate six flights from Kahului to San Francisco and Los Angeles sometime between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. "We're trying to do everything to accommodate our customers," he said.
Carl Wilkens, of Phoenix, said he has never been in a situation where flights were delayed because of a man driving his vehicle into a terminal and setting it on fire.
"It's been an eventful occasion," he said. "It's still beautiful here."
Eric Anderson, of Huntington Beach, Calif., said although the delay caused an inconvenience, it was necessary.
"I think it's better safe than sorry," Anderson said.
Star-Bulletin reporter Craig Gima contributed to this report.