How Hawai‘i Inspired the Advance of Aviation
In the 1920s, the Contest to Cross the Ocean and Reach the Islands Was Deadly—and Transformational
Approximately 20 million airline passengers traveled through Hawaiian airports last year. That might seem like a lot of people on a couple of small Pacific islands, but Hawai‘i hardly broke a sweat handling so many fliers.
Ever since the late 1950s, when the advent of the jet engine revolutionized commercial air travel, Hawai‘i has enjoyed, or some would say endured, an unceasing tourist boom. Since that time the state has become adept at handling an overwhelming number of passengers traveling to and from Asia and the mainland United States.
Yet …
