Bed bugs at Honolulu’s airport trigger deep cleaning, gate closures

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Deep cleaning is underway at several Honolulu airport gates after bed bugs were reported.

State Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said his agency got reports of the bugs in one of the E Gates in Terminal 2 on Monday.

That prompted HDOT staff to clean the area and remove items they thought had attracted the bugs.

But on Tuesday, a Southwest manager contacted HDOT with a sample of the bed bugs. Sniffen says Transportation Department staff responded again and began deep cleaning, pulling carpet and spraying pest control in gates E5, 6 and 7.

Those gates were also closed Wednesday night for additional pest control measures.

The state said additional cleaning will continue over the next three weeks to prevent problems.

Southwest airlines replied to HNN’s request for comment to say they work to maintain a clean facility and defer to HDOT on this specific matter. Flight operations have not been impacted.

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