Tropical Storm Lala Passes Hawaii: Latest Flight Cancellations, Park Closures, and Travel Impact

Tropical Storm Lala, the twelfth named storm of the 2026 Pacific hurricane season, officially passed the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday, but is leaving flash flooding, mudslides, and destruction in its wake.

Lala hit the Hawaiian islands as a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday, August 15, 2026, before weakening back into a tropical storm as it moved west of the island chain on Sunday. According to the AP, the Big Island was hit the hardest by Lala, with 35 inches of rain causing flash floods and mudslides in some areas of the island, including Naʻalehu, Waiʻōhinu, and South Point. 

The rest of the islands, including Oahu and Maui, were spared the worst, but did suffer widespread power outages.

Lala triggered widespread travel disruptions across the region, leading to significant flight cancellations, ground stops, and temporary suspensions of service, through the weekend.

According to FlightAware, Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) topped global cancellation charts after logging 34 cancellations on Saturday and another 49 on Sunday, while Kahului Airport (OGG) reported 24 cancellations Saturday and 31 on Sunday. Additional cancellations and heavy delays hit Ellison Onizuka Kona International (KOA), Lihue (LIH), and Hilo International (ITO), where all commercial flights were temporarily suspended on Saturday. Those airports reopened on Sunday.

Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines absorbed the heaviest impact, with Hawaiian canceling 63 flights on Saturday alone alongside major regional disruptions across United, Alaska Airlines, and SkyWest. All of the waivers that those airline issued expired at the end of Sunday, but did allow passengers to rebook for new travel through either Aug. 19 for Hawaiian, Alaska, and Delta, or Aug. 21 for American.

For those in Hawaii or traveling there this week, while airports are open, all state and county parks statewide remain closed, alongside major visitor sites including Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Haleakalā National Park, and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.

The Hawaiian Tourism Authority is also telling everyone in Hawaii to “continue to stay off the roads as much as possible due to down trees and debris.”

Cruises were also affected, with the Pride of America canceling its overnight in Kauai to return to Honolulu on Friday, rather than remain until Saturday. Passengers were given the choice to disembark or stay on until Sunday, a full day past the scheduled disembarkation. This forced the next cruise to be delayed a full day, with embarkation pushed back until Aug. 16 rather than Aug. 15.

Additionally, Norwegian Spirit skipped calls at Hilo and Kailua-Kona planned for Friday and Saturday, staying out at sea and away from the storm.