Power generator issues trigger hourslong screening delays at Lihue Airport

LĪHUʻE (HawaiiNewsNow) – Intermittent power outages at Līhuʻe Airport triggered major Transportation Security Administration screening delays Wednesday, with some passengers waiting in line for seven hours.

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Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said Hurricane Lowell cut power to the airport and damaged one of the facility’s two backup generators.

To minimize the load on the single generator, officials said the airport reduced security screening to one line, resulting in extended screening times.

Sniffen said high electrical demand caused the remaining generator to power on and off, and each outage forces TSA personnel to restart and reset screening machines from scratch, creating compounding bottlenecks at checkpoints.

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“Whatever power source for the one scanner would go down pretty much every 15 minutes, and then it would take about 10-15 minutes to boot back up and go through their protocol, and then we would move again for about 10, 15 minutes and then it would go back down,” said Kauai resident Madison Perry, who was flying to Oahu.

“They’re handing out water and from what I experienced in the four and a half hours of standing in line, everybody was very even tempered, very understanding,” Perry said.

The department said airlines spaced out flights to allow passengers more time to get through security.

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Power was restored to the airport by 5 p.m.