The Scenic, Surprisingly Quiet US Airport With The Most On-Time Flights

Hawaii got the memo that stress has no place in paradise, especially when it comes to air travel. The 50th State is home to the airport with the least crowded flights in America, as well as the best airport in America for winter travel, and now it's been crowned the U.S. airport with the most punctual flights. According to a report by aviation analytics company Cirium (via Daily Passport), Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, lands at number one on its list of the country's 10 most on-time major airports. In 2024, nearly 85% of this scenic, surprisingly quiet airport's flights departed on-time. It came in just ahead of Salt Lake City International Airport, which boasts an impressive 83% of on-time flights. Globally, HNL is outdone only by Riyadh King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, where travelers will be pleased to discover 87% of flights come and go on schedule.

HNL is situated on Mamala Bay on the island of Oahu, and its commendable timeliness is no small feat considering it's Hawaii's largest and busiest airport, seeing more than 21 million visitors per year. Although this bustling hub in the Hawaiian capital used to be known as Honolulu International Airport, its current name honors America's second longest serving senator, Daniel K. Inouye. The highest-ranking Asian public official in U.S. history, Senator Inouye served the people of Hawaii for 49 years. As a member of the Commerce and Appropriations Committee, he spent many years dedicated to overseeing the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation. It's a fitting tribute that one of the world's most beautiful and efficient airports is named in his honor.

Timeliness is not HNL's only claim to fame. Surrounded by sublimely iridescent turquoise waters, the 12,000-foot-long Reef Runway makes for a phenomenally scenic takeoff and departure, just like this stunning airport landing that sits on a remote island. The Reef Runway is the world's first major runway built entirely offshore, and it also bears the cool distinction of being an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle. Completed in 1977 at a cost of $81 million, Reef Runway was built to accommodate increased air travel to Hawaii at a critical time in its growth as a major travel destination. The runway was also conceived to help combat noise pollutionby moving arrivals and departures away from the island, thereby quieting the skies a bit.

Honolulu's airport is also famous for its beautiful trove of pristinely landscaped cultural gardens, which await travelers outside of Terminal 2 and the airport's E Gates. Thoughtfully designed by Richard C. Tongg in 1962, these lush, interconnected green spaces are a confection of plants, ponds, and pathways reflecting the diversity of Hawaiian culture. A majestic, gold-topped resting pavilion resides in the Chinese Garden, where koi fish swim beneath tall pine and bamboo trees. At night, glowing lanterns illuminate the weeping willows that sway over the pagoda and unique zigzag bridge that anchor the serene Japanese Garden. The Hawaiian Garden is where coconut trees kiss the sky and waterfalls mingle with exotic local flora like white ginger and birds of paradise. A fourth garden inaugurated in 1995 pays tribute to flight attendant Clarabelle Ho Lansing. This pretty, meditative space is dedicated to the chief Aloha Airlines flight attendant who died in 1985 as the result of a disaster on Flight 243.