There were plenty of parking spaces at Honolulu International Airport's interisland facility yesterday.

And that's news.

Normally, the interisland facility is packed with cars by early morning, especially at the start of a weekend.

However, a new policy banning airport employees from parking in the interisland facility began yesterday.

The result: more than 100 open parking spaces awaiting get-away travelers by mid-afternoon, said Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

"We were pleased that the change made more convenient parking available to those who need it, airline passengers," he said.

There was no word from airline employees, who are now required to park in the larger overseas terminal, an extra 10-minute walk from jobs in the interisland terminal.