keady TRAVEL Travelers repeatedly stranded on island outside international airport
Redeye flights create overnight fiascos at Kona International Airport in Hawaii A flight from United Airlines at Kona International Airport in Hawaii on Jan. 16, 2026. Jonah Page/Special to SFGATEBy Silas Valentino,Travel EditorJan 29, 2026 By the time Jesse Ashmore buckled into his seat on a flight out of Hawaii earlier this month, the Alaska resident thought his travel troubles were over. He was only planning to stay on the island of Hawaii for a layover and spent the afternoon of Jan. 8 exploring the Big Island in a rental car. When he returned to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA) to catch a redeye flight on Alaska Airlines, Ashmore hit turbulence as early as the sidewalk, and his layover in Hawaii began devolving into an overnight fiasco. Watch More Most of KOA’s facilities, including terminals 1 and 2 along with its 10 gates, are al fresco — with the exception of the security checkpoint, which Ashmore said was teeming with other travelers when he arrived to drop off the rental. “The security line was the longest I’ve ever seen at the airport,” he told SFGATE a few days later. A certified commercial pilot, Ashmore used his time in line to pull up the FAA’s Notice to Airmen to check KOA’s real-time status. He said the notice said that the airport’s runway was closing at 10:30 p.m. for ongoing construction. Since 2024, KOA’s sole runway has repeatedly closed as the Hawaii Department of Transportation, or HDOT, works on repairs and reconstruction. To allow workers onto the airfield, HDOT closes the runway every night, which means redeye flights are subject to a sharp cutoff for departures. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Kona International Airport in Hawaii, on Jan. 16, 2026, is mostly open-air facilities. Jonah Page/Special to SFGATE At first, Ashmore felt assured. His flight, Alaska Airlines Flight 256 to Anchorage, was originally scheduled for a 9:23 p.m. departure. But after boarding with his girlfriend and other passengers, the flight stalled on the tarmac. Passengers watched another flight take off instead. As 10:30 p.m. rolled around, Ashmore said the Alaska Airlines pilot informed them on the loudspeaker that they were returning to the gate and deboarding. They’d have to fly out in the morning. Midnight was approaching, but before passengers could begin worrying about what to do next, Ashmore said the Alaska Airlines flight crew reassured them while taxiing to the gate that “everyone has been booked in a hotel.” Once in the terminal again, a queue formed at the counter for Alaska Airlines, but it quickly became clear that not everyone on the flight was going to sleep in a bed that night. Don't let Google decide who you trust.Make SFGATE a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.Add Preferred Source Ashmore said the airline had not booked any rooms for passengers. “I suspect they deliberately said that to avoid a rush at the ticket counters,” he surmised. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Passengers were then informed they needed to find one for themselves — in the middle of the night, nonetheless. Hospitality options are limited. KOA is on a remote coastline and the closest town, Kailua-Kona, is nearly 8 miles down a highway. Ashmore found a hotel that charged $1,000 for the night and saw other hotels in Hilo, but that was two hours away. No cab would drive them. “You are really stuck,” he said. “There were about 40 of us remaining when everything was locked up and closed.” A drone photo from December 2025 shows the shoreline near the Old Kona Airport area in Kailua-Kona, about 8 miles from the Kona International Airport in Hawaii. Mengshin Lin/AP Stranded outside the airport until dawn, Ashmore and his girlfriend inflated the kayaks they brought on their vacation to New Zealand. They turned them into makeshift mattresses to sleep on a grassy knoll. He saw other passengers, spanning all ages, sprawling out nearby to camp alongside their luggage. Then, the sprinklers turned on. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Since the runway rehabilitation began at KOA, travelers on a delayed or canceled redeye flight have shared similar stories about how they were forced to spend the night outside the airport and endure the elements. KOA was never designated as a shelter-in-place facility, but the open-air airport inadvertently has become one, especially as redeye flights leaving Hawaii are the new standard. It’s unclear how many times this has happened at KOA since 2024, but it’s clearly an ongoing issue. | | | | | | | | | | | Redeye Flights Are Taking Over Hawaii Travel. Not Everyone’s On Board. Beat of Hawaii Airlines love the efficiency, but Hawaii travelers are facing missed sleep and facing high-stress moments. Read ... | | | “A guy on our flight said his three friends had the same thing happen to them,” Ashmore said, adding that it appeared the airline agents were unfazed by the situation. “It was very obvious that this was not their first rodeo. They had done this many times.”
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