1970s

Three new hotels appeared during the 1970’s: Interisland Resort’s Kona Surf, Island Holiday’s Keauhou Beach Hotel and HCP ’s Kona Lagoon Hotel. Business boomed and Kona town bustled with visitors. 

By the 1970’s, Kailua-Kona had outgrown its airport.  After operating at the location of the old Kona airstrip for 21 years, the airport moved 7.5 miles north to Keahole and held its dedication ceremony on July 1, 1970 .  The construction of America’s first open-air-style airport posed enormous hurdles to the team of engineers from Bechtel Corporation charged with building the new facility.  Thousands of acres of lava fields, much of it interlocked with lava tubes up to 40 feet in diameter, presented a serious challenge.  Construction crews used an astronomical three million pounds of dynamite to create the unprecedented airfield.  It took a monumental effort consisting of 12-hour shifts, 6 days- a-week to open the airport within the 13-month time frame.

The 15 tropical bungalows that comprised the new airport are still in use today.  The open-air, high-beamed, thatched-roof structures reflect architecture that is expressive of old Hawaii and the people and culture of Kailua-Kona.  The design of the new airport was unlike any of the concrete, glass and air-conditioned airports in the United States and had a unique style made possible by the Big Island’s moderate trade winds and warm year-round temperatures.  In its first year of operation, 515,378 passengers passed through the new airport.