Hawaii airports see flight cancellations, scores of travel delays

While Hawaii has experienced fewer staffing-related flight cancellations than many destinations this holiday season, Monday brought at least 17 cancellations, and more than 100 delays.

At Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, there were seven cancellations within, into, or out of the United States, according to tracking by FlightAware.com. Also, as many as 68 flights headed to or from Honolulu were delayed.

Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole had four flights canceled within, into, or out of the U.S., and 23 delays. Hilo International had three delays and no cancellations.

On Maui, four flights were canceled headed to or out of Kahului Airport, and 47 delayed. And on Kauai, two flights headed to or out of Lihue were canceled, and 12 were delayed.

Nationwide, airlines called off more than 1,000 U.S. flights because of increasing COVID-19 infection rates among crews, storm fronts and other snags. Since Friday, airlines have canceled more than 4,000 flights to, from or within the U.S., according to FlightAware.

Still, many people pursued their travel plans. Transportation Security Administration data shows that the number of passengers screened at TSA checkpoints so far during the holiday season went up significantly compared with last year. But the tallies generally fall short of 2019 levels.

Keith Vieira, principal of KV and Associates, Hospitality Consulting, said in checking with numerous Hawaii hotels, “Nobody has received serious cancellations yet, although they are not picking up new bookings at a peak travel period that is usually sold out.”

Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays, said very few Hawaii- bound customers have complained of flight cancellations or delays.

“I think what’s happening is that the airlines have been able to reroute people on other planes depending on their load factors,” Richards said. “The airfares are still relatively low, which leads me to believe that they aren’t running 100%.”

In recent days, Hawaii has seen robust levels of arrivals, with 30,616 visitors touching down on Sunday. However, Richards said the travel forecast points to a softening, with cancellations increasing over the last three to four weeks.

“We are seeing an increase in omicron-related cancellations to Hawaii for the rest of 2021 and into January and February,” he said.

Industry analysts maintain that new guidance from U.S. health officials could help airlines better navigate the impact of omicron on staffing levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday cut in half the recommended time an infected person should isolate, to five days.

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, was among those who have called on the Biden administration to cut recommended COVID-19 quarantine times down to five days, or risk further disruptions in air travel. Delta has said it intends to implement the new guidance, which would allow the airline more flexibility to schedule employees.

Other changes could be afoot. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief science adviser on the pandemic response, on Monday said that the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signaling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed.

Fauci said such a mandate might drive up the nation’s lagging vaccination rate as well as confer stronger protection on flights, for which federal regulations require all those age 2 and older to wear a mask.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.