North Shore NewsBy: Ben Devine
Each morning the rising sun reveals a patch of air that I call home. The trade winds are steady from the sea as they rise up the mountain ridge-line. The lifting breath of wind makes magic in a scrap of sky just above that field by the ocean. The air there at Kawaihapai Airport, more commonly known as Dillingham Airfield, is truly special and like no other place on earth. It belongs to everyone in Hawai’i indiscriminately, just as the ocean does. It belongs to you. On June 30th 2020, that will be taken away. The Airfield is a vital community resource that gives everyone a chance to fly. It offers public access to tourists, emergency services, the surrounding hiking trails and a path for the sons and daughters of Hawaii to pursue their pilots license through aviation programs like the Civil Air Patrol.
The state gave notice in February 2020 that businesses who have been located at the Airfield for decades must move in only a few months. Even if moving was feasible, that is not enough time. For the glider operations and skydiving industry there are no other suitable airports in the state.
The Airfield represents more than 130 good jobs, and the families they support. The negative economic ripple effect will be felt through the whole north shore. Yet, the impact it will have on the lives and opportunities in our community will be so much greater.
Please write the Governor and the DOT to ask them to give the community more time to address the issues and figure out a feasible solution. For additional news and information, or how you can help, please visit SaveDillinghamAirfield.com