# Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA)

> Kailua-Kona, US · IATA: KOA · ICAO: PHKO · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `KOA` |
| ICAO | `PHKO` |
| City | Kailua-Kona |
| Country | US |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 14 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | 19.73878, -156.04560 |

## Description

Aloha Air Cargo sets the rhythm at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (IATA KOA, ICAO PHKO), running Boeing 737 and 767 freighters six days a week into an airport that handled 57,297 tons of cargo in 2025 — second only to Honolulu among Hawaii's freight stations. From the dry, lava-strewn west coast of the Big Island, the refrigerated inter-island network keeps Kona coffee, seafood, cut flowers and live tropical fish cold until they reach the consolidation hubs. Belly capacity adds to that: KOA carried about 4.17 million passengers across 99,319 aircraft movements in 2025, and the field ranks as an FAA small hub. Dedicated cargo facilities exist on site, but transpacific and international consignments are consolidated and cleared through Honolulu (HNL) rather than at Kona. Road access runs via the Queen Kaahumanu Highway some eleven kilometres north of Kailua-Kona, with the Saddle Road linking to Hilo (ITO) on the island's windward side as the second option. The airport is named for island-born astronaut Ellison Onizuka, lost aboard Challenger in 1986; volcanic haze, the local vog, is part of the operating day.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/ellison-onizuka-kona-international-airport-at-keahole-airport-koa](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/ellison-onizuka-kona-international-airport-at-keahole-airport-koa)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/ellison-onizuka-kona-international-airport-at-keahole-airport-koa](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/ellison-onizuka-kona-international-airport-at-keahole-airport-koa)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/ellison-onizuka-kona-international-airport-at-keahole-airport-koa/llm-summary*