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Hawaii Moving Forward To Close Dillingham

Paul Bertorelli
September 28, 20204

Businesses and users based at Hawaii’s scenic and historic Dillingham
Airfield are marshaling support to reverse the state’s decision to
close it next year. The state had planned to close the field in June
2020 but pushed it back a year to June 2021, according to
HawaiiNewsNow. The field is home to gliding and skydiving operations
comprising nearly a dozen businesses.

It was originally named Mokule?ia Airfield and was famously the runway
from which P-40s took off to defend Pearl Harbor against the Dec. 7,
1941, attack. It was renamed Dillingham after a B-29 crewman who was
killed in action over Japan. The U.S. Army still owns the field, but
the state of Hawaii has leased it for the past 25 years. Now the state
wants it to revert to Army control. The Army still uses the airfield
for training exercises.

“There’s jobs here. It’s 130 people … There’s nearly a dozen
businesses. Their life’s investment is on the verge of being
eradicated,” state Sen. Gil Riviere told HawaiiNewsNow. Dillingham is
located on the North Shore of Oahu about 28 miles northwest of
Honolulu. Airport tenants and aviation officials say the business
won’t be able to relocate on the island.