More flights to Hawaii once quarantine not mandatory

After three months of encouraging tourists to stay away from Hawaii, the state will begin easing its mandatory quarantine on August 1. "Now is the time to work together as a community to ensure that our residents and local businesses can safely return to a larger volume of travellers," Gov. David Ige said. Hawaiian Airlines said Wednesday it will add hundreds of weekly flights to its schedule between Hawaii and the US mainland as the state government eases a strict quarantine. The restrictions have mandated a 14-day quarantine for nearly all travellers in and out of the state, as well as for travel among the state's islands. Those rules made travel into the state "almost nonexistent" since April, according to a major airline industry group. Starting August 1, the state will allow travellers to avoid the quarantine as long as they can show that they've tested negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of their arrival. The state said it will not provide testing for passengers at the airport, and travelers will still be required to undergo temperature checks. As the new state policy rolls out, the airline will resume regular service between Hawaii and several non-west coast cities, including Boston, Las Vegas, New York and Phoenix, as well as Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose. The airline is also adding service this month between the islands and Portland, San Diego and Sacramento.<br/>