Hawaii’s main airport terminals are 15 minutes, and 50 years, apart

The airport

Daniel K Inouye International Airport (HNL), also known as Honolulu International Airport.

The flight

Korean Air KE054 from Honolulu to Seoul.

The arrival

Hawaii’s main international airport is located on the island of Oahu, about 15 kilometres from Waikiki’s resorts. I opt for an Uber to take me to the airport so that I can squeeze in one last swim. It arrives at the hotel in next to no time and costs $US28 ($42) for the 15-minute ride. If you’re trying to save greenbacks, there’s a shared shuttle option for $US20 per person, or a public bus ride for $US3 that takes about an hour.

The look

The Cultural Gardens – one of the airport’s breezy spaces. Credit: Alamy

It’s a tale of two terminals. Today I’m departing from Terminal 2, the main gateway for international and domestic flights. Opened in 1927, the last time it was modernised was in the 1970s. The terminal’s design brings the outside in, featuring open-air concourses (watch out for dive-bombing birds), island breezes and floral fragrances in the air. It looks and feels dated, as if a lei-wearing Elvis might stroll through at any moment.

Terminal 1, on the other hand, reopened in 2021 after a $US270 million works project that added the new Mauka Concourse. Modern, cavernous and fully air-conditioned, the terminal is used mainly for flights to and from the US mainland and has a “non-island” vibe that could place it in any US airport from Denver to Detroit. To walk between the furthest points in Terminal 1 and 2 takes up to 15 minutes. Shuttles and wheelchair assistance are available.

Checking in

It’s my lucky day. The Korean Air check-in counter is near to where the Uber drops me off and there’s nobody in line ahead of me. I drop my bags and collect an entry pass for the Korean Air KAL Lounge, located past security.

Security

It’s a five-minute walk from the check-in counter to the security screening area. The sight of a very long line of travellers greets me there, many of them still wearing colourful floral leis, sunburn and kaftans. Hawaii can have that effect. It takes more than 20 minutes to pass through to the air-side of the airport.

The refurbished Terminal 1, clinical with little character.Credit: Alamy

Food + drink

I stock up on snacks in the Korean Air lounge, which has a great selection of complimentary fruit cups, sandwiches, chips and cheese to go. The retail food options are more “meh” than making me hungry – there’s a Burger King, Chowmein Express, pizza and a Starbucks with a long queue. A “rustic” market sells overpriced ready-made meals and snacks. Passengers coming from Waikiki are advised to pick up some sandwiches and snacks before heading to the airport.

Retail therapy

If you run out of time during your holiday to buy Honolulu Cookie Company multi-packs or chocolate-dipped Hawaiian Host macadamia nuts, fear not – there are several souvenir stores offering Hawaiiana gifts to take home, at significantly marked-up prices. There are also duty-free shops, plus stand-alone retail spaces for prestige brands. A number of flower stands sell succulent tropical flower leis and bouquets that smell divine, but wouldn’t cut it with Australian quarantine restrictions.

Airport shopping strip.Credit: Alamy

Passing time

In addition to accessing the relatively fast, free Wi-Fi, travellers can pass time admiring the art and murals throughout the airport. Pause for a moment in the Chinese, Hawaiian and Japanese gardens, which surround the Terminal 2 ticketing lobby. You’ll likely need some spare time to walk to your gate; distances can be quite far in this sprawling airport and they always seem farther when you’re running late.

The verdict

The island vibes continue at this breezy airport, where the ghost of 1970s Elvis lives on in Terminal 2.

Our rating out of five
★★★

The writer travelled as a guest of Hawaii Tourism Oceania.