Kona International Airport
Over 95% of aircraft operations take place on Runway 8-26 because the orientation of Runway 3-21 makes direct flights over residential and commercial areas unavoidable. Night and early morning flights are directed to arrive from and depart towards the east, where largely vacant land acts as a noise buffer. Day flights maintain a west to east pattern. Although this results in arriving aircraft coming closer to the downtown area, pilots attempt to remain over Hilo Bay for as long as possible before aligning their aircraft with the runway, crossing over near the Hilo Iron Works building. Also, aircraft landings are quieter than take-offs. All aircraft, in fact, are directed to avoid overflying residential and commercial areas to the extent possible. In addition, the U.S. military transferred some of its training activities to Kona International Airport. However, the military will occasionally do training exercises using the C-17 Globemaster and F-22 Raptor.