"A $22 million federal grant will help build a new TSA checkpoint at the Kahului Airport that could add as many as six security screening lanes to the second-busiest airport in the state.
The Federal Aviation Administration is providing the grant to the state Department of Transportation, which plans to build the new two-story security screening checkpoint at the south end of the ticket lobby.
The north checkpoint and all its lanes will remain operational, and as part of the multimillion-dollar project, that checkpoint will be upgraded by enclosing it and adding air conditioning, the Department of Transportation said Friday.
Maui District Airports Manager Marvin Moniz said the federal funding is “good news, well justified with the number of passengers traveling through Kahului Airport.”
“It kind of takes that whole lineup of passengers that currently congest one main checkpoint and now we’re able to balance it all,” Moniz said via phone Friday afternoon. “So yeah, we’re excited about that. I think it’s a win for the passengers, and I think it’s a win for the airlines, and obviously for the airport as well.”
A line of travelers winds through the TSA checkpoint at Kahului Airport in November. State officials plan to enclose the checkpoint and install air conditioning, as well as construct a new, two-story screening checkpoint at the other end of the ticket lobby in hopes of reducing wait times and making conditions more comfortable for travelers at the state’s second-busiest airport. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
He said that passengers will be able to go through the north or south checkpoint depending on their airline and terminal — both sides are a mix of interisland and Mainland flights, with airlines like Hawaiian, American and Delta on the north side and Southwest, Alaska and sometimes United and American on the south side.
The new south checkpoint waiting lobby, screening lanes and TSA support spaces will be located on the second floor of the security screening facility. Other airport support spaces and tenant retail opportunities will be on the ground floor.
A pedestrian bridge will connect the new south checkpoint to a passenger hold room and will span over an existing service road.
The project will cost $62.3 million, with work expected to begin in the summer of 2024 and be completed by the end of 2025, according to the DOT. Per the state budget, the improvements are being paid for by bond funds, which the state already has, a DOT spokesperson said Friday.
Moniz said the timeline will depend on getting contractors, but the design for the new checkpoint is already done, and with the federal funding, “we’ll be able to expedite putting out the bid and starting construction.”
“That’s definitely good news,” he said. “Hats off to our Hawaii congressional delegation because they supported us all the way and they definitely seen the need.”
A bustling hub of both residents traveling interisland or to the Mainland and visitors coming for vacation, Kahului gets about 10,000 to 11,000 arriving passengers and a similar amount departing every day, Moniz estimated. During peak travel times like holidays, this can swell to about 13,000 passengers coming in and a similar number heading out.
In 2022, the state’s busiest airport, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, saw 9,158,477 inbound passengers and 9,187,567 outbound passengers, not including those passing through on connecting flights, according to the DOT. Kahului, the state’s second-busiest hub, had 4,246,246 inbound passengers and 4,223,491 outbound passengers.
Last year, airport officials tried a mix of solutions for the jampacked lines that overflowed from the covered TSA facilities to the hot sidewalk. They installed X-ray equipment that can scan bags without removing electronics, used machines to scan photo IDs instead of boarding passes, deployed canine units to sniff out bags while travelers were still in line and set aside an additional lane for TSA Pre-Check travelers. Large tents were also put up to protect waiting passengers from the sun.
Moniz said the measures have helped expedite screening and reduce wait times for passengers.
“It’s moving along for the most part. We haven’t had any major or lengthy delays this summer so far because of line congestion or lack of gates,” he said.
Construction on the new south checkpoint isn’t expected to interrupt operations. It will be located just past the airline check-in counters, and Moniz said any work that will require taking away airline working space will be done after hours in the 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. slot. Some of the work will require reducing traffic in the back of the airport where airlines take baggage carts, “but it won’t bring them to a stop,” he said.
TSA officials were supportive of the new checkpoint, saying it will benefit both travelers and workers.
“We are grateful for the investment our federal and state partners are making in TSA security screening operations at Kahului Airport,” Nanea Vasta, TSA federal security director for Hawai’i and the Pacific, said in a news release. “Travelers will notice the improvements when departing the airport and TSA employees will ultimately enjoy a more comfortable environment when working in the new space.”" (
visit link)