Trans-Pacific Travel Changes in Effect Tuesday

Thermal Screening Equipment has been installed at airports. PC: HDOT

The rules of trans-Pacific travel change in a meaningful way on Tuesday in time for the holiday season.

Gov. David Ige signed a 16th COVID-19 emergency proclamation Monday, Nov. 23, requiring all transpacific travelers to have a negative test result from a trusted travel partner before their departure for Hawai‘i in order to bypass the 14-day quarantine.

“We are implementing this added layer of safety in response to the dramatically increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the continental United States and around the world,” the governor said. “The health of our residents and visitors is our primary concern, especially as more people travel to our state during the holidays.”

Travelers heading to Hawai‘i must upload their negative test results to the Safe Travels system prior to departure or, as an alternative to uploading, bring a hard copy of their negative test results with them when boarding their flight. The state of Hawai‘i recommends that all transpacific travelers departing for Hawai‘i carry a hard copy of their negative test result as a backup.

The policy change means that test results will not be accepted once a traveler arrives in Hawai‘i. Travelers who did not have a negative test result prior to departing for Hawai‘i must self-quarantine for 14 days, without exception.

Post-arrival testing and results will also not be accepted once a traveler has arrived in the State of Hawai‘i.

This policy change applies to domestic transpacific flights and flights from international locations in which pre-travel testing programs are in place. It does not apply to inter-county travelers.

The 16th emergency proclamation is posted at https://governor.hawaii.gov/emergency-proclamations/.