With new procedures in place, state ends inter-island quarantine rule

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - After two and a half months of mostly empty airports in Hawaii, the state ended the 14-day mandatory quarantine for inter-island travelers Tuesday.

Instead, the Hawaii State Department of Health is requiring all passengers and crew members to fill out a new travel and health form before they board their flight.

Travelers can print and fill out the new two-page document at home. The health information should be completed within 24 hours of the scheduled departure.

After passengers check-in at the airport, a Hawaii National Guard member will make sure no one's temperature exceeds 100.4 degrees.

Travelers will then head to the next section where they turn in their form.

“An airport representative will be there to verify the information is all accurate and correct and complete. They’ll go through the questions and once they submit that, everything is verified, then they will go through to the TSA checkpoint,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara.

Hawaiian Airlines recommends arriving 90 minutes before a flight.

The carrier’s boarding process has changed. Guests needing special assistance and those in first class will be able to pre-board. People in the main cabin will board from the back of the aircraft.

The in-flight magazine will be available near the boarding area. Juice and water will be served.

Hawaiian Airlines will have between seven and 11 round-trips daily for Lihue, Kahului, Kona and Hilo.

"Demand looks pretty good, but remembering now that we have voluntarily capped our loads at 70% so that we can make sure that people are somewhat spread apart," said Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Ann Botticelli.

Southwest Airlines also modified its boarding procedures. The number of travelers on each flight is limited to promote social distancing.

For Mokulele Airlines, which is merging operations with Makani Kai Air, passengers are encouraged to arrive a little earlier than the usual 30 minutes before their flight.

“Only nine people on a Mokulele flight so there’s not going to be a line in front of you,” said spokesman Keith Sisson. “We think this is something that is going to be fairly easy and non-disruptive for the passenger experience.”

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