Ua hoʻomaka hou ka mākaʻikaʻi ma ka Mokuʻāina ʻo Hawaiʻi ʻAmelika, ʻoiai aia kekahi o nā mākeke honua i hoʻokumu ʻia ma hope. I kēia manawa, ua loaʻa hou iā Iapana nā huakaʻi hoʻomaha ʻole i Honolulu. I kēia manawa he 300 mau mile a me ʻelua mau mokupuni, ke hoʻomau nei ʻo Japan Airlines i ka lawelawe hoʻomaha ʻole ma waena o Tokyo Narita a me Kona ma ka mokupuni ʻo Hawaii.
Japan Airlines hoʻolaha mua i nā mokulele ma waena o NRT a me KOA ma 2017.
I loko o kahi hanana kūikawā i mālama ʻia ma Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport ma Keāhole, ua hōʻike ka Pelekikena a me Luna Hoʻokele o HTA ʻo John De Fries a me nā mea ʻē aʻe o ka mākaʻikaʻi a me ke aupuni i ko lākou mahalo i ke ʻano o ka lawelawe ʻana o Japan Airlines i ka mokupuni ʻo Hawaiʻi a me ka mokuʻāina.
“He lōʻihi a kū hoʻokahi ka moʻolelo o Hawaiʻi me Iapana. ʻO ka pilina paʻa ma waena o Iapana a me Hawaiʻi e hoʻi i nā hanauna he nui, no laila, ʻo ka hoʻi ʻana o ka huakaʻi ma waena o ko kākou mau lāhui ʻelua, ua like ia me ka hoʻokipa ʻana i ka home ma hope o ka lōʻihi o ka haʻalele ʻana," wahi a De Fries.
"ʻO ka mokulele ʻo Japan Airlines 770 mai Narita International Airport a i ka Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport e hōʻailona ana i ka wehe hou ʻana o kahi alahaka lani e hoʻohui iā mākou a hoʻoikaika i kā mākou pilina moʻomeheu me ka hoʻoikaika ʻana i kā mākou hoʻoikaika ʻana i ke kālepa a me ke kālepa ma waena o kā mākou mau lāhui ʻelua. ”
I loko o nā mahina ʻeono mua o 2022, ua hoʻolilo nā malihini mai Iapana i $86.7 miliona ma Hawaiʻi, e hoʻonui ana i $10 miliona ma ka loaʻa kālā ʻauhau mokuʻāina. I Iune 2022, ʻehā mau mokulele mokulele i hana i nā ala ma waena o Iapana a me Honolulu, Hawaiʻi - Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, a me ZIPAIR.
Ua ʻōlelo hou ʻo De Fries, “He mea koʻikoʻi ka huakaʻi honua i ka wā e hiki mai ana i ka wā e hiki mai ana ke hoʻokipa mālie mākou i ka poʻe huakaʻi hoʻolimalima kiʻekiʻe aʻe ko lākou mau waiwai i kūlike me kā mākou misionari ʻo 'Mālama Kuʻu Home' (mālama i koʻu home aloha). Hoʻopiha ka hoʻouka hou ʻana o ka lawelawe i kēia lā i ka hoʻihoʻi mau ʻana o nā mokulele a mākou i ʻike ai i nā mahina i hala iho nei mai kā mākou mau mākeke kumu honua - Iapana, Kanada, Korea, Australia, a me New Zealand - a me nā mea a mākou e manaʻo nei e hoʻi mai ma ka pūnaewele ma ka hopena o ka makahiki."
ʻO nā poʻe hanohano i komo pū me ke Kiaʻāina ʻo Hawaiʻi David Ige lāua ʻo First Lady Dawn Ige, ka Luna Hoʻokele o ke Keʻena ʻOihana Mokuʻāina (DOT) ʻo Jade Butay, Luna Hoʻokele o DOT-Airports Division Ross Higashi, Pelekikena HTA a me Luna Nui ʻo John De Fries, Luna Dute ʻAmelika a me ka Luna Hoʻomalu o ke awa ʻo George. Minamishin, a me Japan Airlines Regional Manager no Hawai'i Hiroshi Kuroda.
Ma waena o nā poʻe i hōʻea mai ma ka mokulele JAL 770, ʻo ia ka Mekia Kalana ʻo Hawaiʻi ʻo Mitch Roth, e alakaʻi ana i ka ʻelele Hawaiʻi i kipa aku i nā kūlanakauhale kaikuahine ma Iapana. Ua hoʻokipa ʻia ka poʻe o ka hōʻea ʻana ma hope o ka puka ʻana i ke keʻena ʻo Federal Inspection Services (FIS) hou e ka hula hula, mele na Harold Kama, Jr., lei aloha ʻia e 2022 Miss Kona Coffee Kyndra Nakamoto, a me ka hui Island of Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau (IHVB).
No ke kākoʻo ʻana i nā ʻoihana ʻoihana a me nā mahiʻai kūloko, ua hoʻonohonoho pū ʻo IHVB i nā mea inu e hōʻike ana i nā huahana Hawaiʻi Island mai Big Island Abalone, Big Island Candies, UCC Hawaiʻi, Pine Village Small Farm o Hōlualoa, a me Waiākea wai.
He aha e lawe ʻia mai kēia ʻatikala:
- During a special event held at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole, HTA President and CEO John De Fries and other tourism and government stakeholders expressed their appreciation for what Japan Airlines' service means to Hawai‘i Island and the state.
- “Japan Airlines flight 770 from Narita International Airport to the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport symbolizes the re-opening of a sky bridge that will unify us and strengthen our cross-cultural bond while fortifying our efforts to enhance trade and commerce between our two nations.
- The strong ties between Japan and Hawaiʻi go back many generations, so the return of travel between our two nations is much like welcoming family home after a long absence,” said De Fries.
