Severe weather triggered hundreds of flight delays, dozens of cancellations

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A winter storm that moved over the state meant a big headache for travelers in the islands.

According to Flight Aware, there were more than 400 delays at the major airlines and two dozen cancellations at Hawaii’s airport.

At Kahului airport on Sunday night, Hawaiian Airlines passengers headed to Los Angeles were stranded at the airport for more than 20 hours because of the inbound plane was diverted to Kona because of bad weather.

“This is like one of the worst experiences that I’ve had,” said Ray, who was traveling with his two children to Colorado.

“I stood in line for like over four hours. I was standing up nodding off, waiting in line to talk to these people. And they were so rude.”

The passengers eventually board for the flight at 10 a.m Monday morning for a flight that was supposed to leave around 2 p.m. Sunday.

During the ordeal, passengers expressed frustration with the airline’s staff’s lack of communication.

“They’ve been telling us half information, half lies, half truths, everything in between. And flights are keep getting delayed, delayed delayed,” said Pradeep Sardana of New Delhi.

Hawaiian Airlines said it provided travelers with blankets, snacks and a $500 travel credit.

The company said the bad weather forced it to cancel seven interisland and five trans-Pacific flights on Monday.

“We will be accommodating affected guests on alternate flights, and we thank them for their patience as our teams work hard to get everyone to their destinations safely,” an airline spokesperson said.

Flights from the Daniel K. Inouye Interational Airport were also delayed. One flight to Hilo, which was set to depart at 5 p.m. Sunday, didn’t leave until midnight.

The disruptions come after a “rare” pocket of severe turbulence hit a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Honolulu on Sunday, leaving 36 people injured, including 11 seriously.

Airlines are urging travelers to check on their flights before they head to the airport.

This story will be updated.

Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.