image of one of the new new hand sanitizing dispensers at the airport, courtesy the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation

(BIVN) – The Hawaii Department of Transportation said it is installing 250 hand sanitizing dispensers throughout the airports statewide. The dispensers will make available more than 12,000 boxes of anti-bacterial solution, and will be placed in high passenger volume areas, state officials say.

“We sincerely thank Hawaiian Airlines and Pacific Air Cargo for their work delivering the dispensers quickly and free of charge from California to Hawaii,” said Director Jade Butay, Hawaii Department of Transportation. “A big mahalo to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for picking up more than half the costs associated with the sanitizing equipment.”

According to the Hawaiʻi DOT:

The dispensers are free standing, battery operated and touch free. They are placed in high volume areas such as check-in lobbies, baggage claims, food courts, security checkpoints, international arrival and tour group sections, and gate areas. The total cost of the hand sanitizing dispensers, equipment and liquid is $260,000.

Custodians in airports and harbors are diligently working to clean and sanitize the facilities, especially restrooms and common touch points like handrails, doorknobs and elevator buttons. At the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) at least 35 custodians per eight-hour shift are working to clean the airport facilities.

The HDOT Airports Division has also been distributing anti-bacterial wipes to airport employees to clean their stations and areas where passengers may frequent. HDOT thanks HTA for providing dozens of cases of the anti-bacterial wipes.

Also on Thursday, the County of Hawai‘i Department of Parks and Recreation announced it will open its rest rooms at 8:00 a.m., instead of the customary 6:00 a.m., in order to allow for thorough daily disinfection operations at each facility.

“We really appreciate the hard work of our Parks Maintenance teams, to keep our people safe and healthy,” said Roxcie Waltjen, Director of Parks and Recreation, who noted that the disinfection covers all high-touch surfaces in the rest rooms and takes extra time. “We thank the public for their patience and understanding,” she said.