Hawaii Flights Resume, Cruise Ships Adjust After Pacific Tsunami Alerts

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake, which struck off the coast of Russia early Wednesday, is prompting tsunami warnings and advisors up and down North America’s West Coast, Hawaii, and Japan.

The earthquake is one of the largest ever recorded and the most powerful since the 9.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan in 2011.

There is currently a tsunami warning for the area around Eureka in California’s Humboldt County, and then a tsunami advisory for the rest of the West Coast starting at the California-Mexico border and up to the Canada border. Waves from the tsunami reached Arena Cove, Calif., at 1 a.m. local time, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), which recorded waves of 3 feet above predictions.

Stronger warnings in Hawaii, which told residents in certain areas to evacuate their homes, were downgraded to advisories Wednesday morning. Advisories generally mean potentially dangerous waves and flooding in areas close to the coastline. While there is still potential for strong waves, crucially, “A major tsunami is not expected to strike the state of Hawaii,” which had been a fear, according to the NOAA.

A separate warning in place for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands has been canceled, according to the NWS Guam on Wednesday evening.

Travel Impact: Hawaiian Airlines, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Oceania

After Hawaii Gov. Josh Green confirmed that all flights in and out of the state Tuesday night were on hold shortly after the earthquake, travel was on track Wednesday morning.

Hawaiian Airlines and sister-airline Alaska Airlines said they were resuming flights at around 9 p.m. local time Tuesday. “Hawaiian Airlines is safely resuming flight operations this evening as airports reopen. We appreciate our guests’ patience and understanding while we adjusted operations in Hawaii. Guests with travel to, from or within the Hawaiian Islands should continue to check the status of their flight,” it said in a statement.

Tuesday’s hold impacted less than 10% of all flights from Honolulu’s Daniel K Inouye International Airport (HNL), according to FlightAware.

Still, Hawaiian has issued a waiver for all those traveling through Honolulu (HNL), Kona (KOA), Kauai (LIH), and Maui (OGG) on July 29 and 30. Hawaiian is waiving all change fees and fare differences.

A couple of cruise ships were in Hawaii when the tsunami alerts went off on Tuesday.

While TMR has reached out and has not heard back, several reports said that Norwegian’s Pride of America was forced to depart from the Hilo harbor several hours ahead of schedule. The ship issued an alert to all passengers once the tsunami warning hit, alerting them to get back to the ship. According to those reports, including from local ABC affiliate WPDE, some passengers and crew not able to get back to the ship before Pride of America left the dock.

Pride of America is now scheduled to call at Kailua-Kona on July 30, Nawiliwili on July 31, and Honolulu on Aug. 1.

The other ship currently in Hawaii is Oceania Regatta, which was sailing a Tokyo to Honolulu that started on May 22. Regatta was scheduled for Kailua-Kona when the tsunami warnings were issued on Tuesday.

An Oceania spokesperson told TMR that Regatta left the port of Kailua-Kona early because of safety concerns due to the tsunami warning, with ten guests still ashore, and that the line is working to get the guests back onboard.

“Our ship and shoreside teams are in contact with these guests, plus all relevant local authorities, and are working to get them back onboard at the earliest possible opportunity. The safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit are always our top priority. We are closely monitoring the situation being reported and our thoughts are with those that may be impacted,” the spokesperson said.