Runway lighting at Kapalua mulled for emergencies
Officials say change wouldn’t extend airport to nighttime hours
A proposed project to install runway lights at Kapalua Airport could benefit the island during urgent medical or natural disaster situations, officials say.
During nighttime emergencies, the proposed lights would be used for air transport planes, helicopters or any aircraft approved for landing on the short runway, to drop medical equipment and necessary supplies, and provide potential evacuations.
Operations at the Kapalua Airport, which was established in the 1980s, would still be limited to daytime use; lighting would not expand
at Kapalua-West Maui Airport Wednesday afternoon. the airport’s hours.
Noting how the pali oftentimes gets blocked due to car accidents, landslides and fires, having aerial transportation available for urgent situations on the west side “just gives us more options, more tools in the toolbox,” said Maui County Council Member Tamara Paltin, who holds the West Maui residency seat.
During a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday night, Paltin briefly explained the proposed project to install the lights while accompanied by Joe Pluta, president of the West Maui Taxpayers Association.
“We want to have every opportunity to have anything in case of an emergency, to have that airport utilized to the highest degree it can, to evacuate people if necessary, bring in supplies, medical things, life-saving things,” Pluta said. “If safety lights are necessary to do that, I would hope this community would support that.”
Paltin said the idea was suggested to the association by Kapalua Airport firefighter Rian Takeshita, who also put out a letter of request to Paltin and Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura, who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Paltin pointed to support from state Rep. Angus McKelvey, whose district covers West Maui, Maalaea and North Kihei.
“He understands that many are concerned with the establishment of emergency runway lights as a slippery slope for 24-hour airport operation,” she said while reading a letter from McKelvey. “He thinks we can have the benefits of having an emergency lighting runway system for natural disasters or medical crises while ensuring that the peace and tranquility remains intact for our community.”
McKelvey also said in his letter that he would support a full public review of the project that would include a detailed timeline, specific plans and potential impacts “to avoid the installation of a system that does not meet the community’s high standard nor further the cause of emergency response.”
Though still preliminary, the upcoming residential Pulelehua Project requested that the lights be pointed away from homes and not be automated in the event that the project moves forward, Paltin said.
Former Council Member Elle Cochran, who also represented West Maui, said during the virtual meeting that “we need this, I’ve always thought so.”
Because the Kapalua Airport is the only airport in the state that does not qualify for federal funds, according to state Department of Transportation Maui Airports District Manager Marvin Moniz, Paltin said the funding for this project is “tricky.”
This is due to a longstanding county permit that includes some limitations, such as not allowing night flights, military operations or helicopter operations during certain times, Moniz said.
“In airports that the feds don’t have a say in, they will not put in federal funding, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put in a request to see if they would help support it,” he said.
Paltin said that they would have to introduce an amendment to the existing ordinance that allowed for the Kapalua Airport to be established and make changes to allow declared emergency operations. She said they would work with Sugimura and Moniz in the Airports Division.
Legislative action by the county as well as garnering letters of support from the taxpayers association and other stakeholders could assist with seeking funding, Moniz said.
“They want to have the ability, in case we have a trauma victim, we could have an air ambulance from Honolulu come in here, land and then transport them back to Honolulu as quickly as possible,” said Takeshita, an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting officer who has worked out of the Kapalua Airport for 12 years. “That’s what we’re trying to achieve here.”