Hawaiian Airlines to Restart Operations to U.S. Next Month
by Daine Taylor /
Hawaiian Airlines announced this week that it will be making its return to flying to the U.S. mainland under a reduced schedule beginning Aug. 1.
The carrier originally suspended a majority of its operations back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing mainland service to destinations like Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco to once daily, and even reducing the amount of flights between neighboring islands.
Hawaiian recently reintroduced once-daily service between Honolulu and Portland, and plans to add once-daily service to San Diego and Sacramento on July 15.
The state is also preparing to implement a pre-travel COVID-19 testing program, requiring that out-of-state visitors must get a valid COVID-19 test before arriving to Hawaii, and show proof of a negative test result, in order to avoid the state’s mandated 14-day quarantine.
“The layered safety measures put in place to protect the health of our local communities promise to make travel to and from Hawaii more accessible than in recent months,” said Peter Ingram, president and CEO at Hawaiian Airlines.
“We look forward to welcoming onboard guests who support and observe the protocols in place for responsible travel, including our visitors reconnecting with family and friends on the U.S. mainland.”
While testing will not be conducted at the airports, they will implement temperature checks, barring anyone from flying who has a higher temperature than 100.4 degrees, or who exhibits any other COVID-19 symptoms. Travelers will be required to fill out a State Travel and Health form.
“Asking passengers to get a negative COVID-19 test prior to travel is one more tool in our layered screening process that will help keep Hawaii safe,” said Hawaii’s Lt. Gov. Josh Green in a statement.