Topline
Following tsunami advisories triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded, major U.S. airlines are allowing passengers flying in or out of Hawaii to change their travel plans without extra cost.
Major U.S. carriers, including Hawaiian Airlines, have issued travel waivers for passengers due to ... More
On Tuesday night, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines temporarily held or redirected flights bound for Hawaii in response to a tsunami warning issued for the Hawaiian Islands and parts of Alaska—but both airlines resumed service by Wednesday morning.
Alaska Airlines issued a travel advisory covering four Hawaiian airports (Oahu, Kona, Kauai, Maui), allowing passengers ticketed to fly Wednesday to rebook at no charge for travel through Sunday, Aug. 3.
Hawaiian Airlines issued a nearly identical travel waiver, covering the same four airports with the same rebooking conditions.
United Airlines also issued a travel alert for four Hawaiian airports, allowing passengers scheduled to fly on Wednesday to rebook another flight at no charge through Aug. 3.
American Airlines has a travel alert covering four airports in Hawaii and two in Japan, allowing passengers ticketed to fly Wednesday or Thursday to reschedule at no charge.
Southwest Airlines has a travel advisory covering five Hawaiian airports, allowing passengers scheduled to fly Wednesday to rebook without a change fee.
Following a 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of eastern Russia on Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service has issued tsunami warnings and advisories for Hawaii, portions of Alaska, Guam, American Samoa, and the West Coast of the U.S. Hawaii was braced for severe impact, but the NWS downgraded the alert level to a tsunami advisory just before 5 a.m. EDT. Waves also hit Japan, where nearly 2 million people were asked to evacuate, and Russia's Kuril Islands in the Pacific. As of 10:15 a.m. EDT Wednesday morning, large portions of the U.S. west coast remained under a tsunami travel watch. Although the threat has been lowered for Hawaii, Oahu Emergency Management warned tourists Wednesday to “Stay away from beaches, shorelines, and out of the ocean.”
Travelers should check their flight status before heading to the airport to make sure it is operating on time. Passengers with flights covered by an airline travel waiver may consider rebooking to a later date without having to pay a change fee or fare difference. Airlines advise downloading the carrier’s app to monitor for updates. In addition, passengers can plug their flight information into FlightAware and click the “Where is my plane now?” link just under the flight number. The tool lets travelers see if the plane is ahead of schedule, on time or behind schedule—often before the airline announces a delay or cancellation.
“We cannot predict where, when or how destructive the next tsunami will be,” notes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on its tsunami safety page.
Tsunami Waves Reach West Coast, Hawaii Warning Downgraded (Live Updates) (Forbes)