As of Thursday, domestic travel to and from Hawai´i all but returned to its pre-pandemic normal — at least for those who are vaccinated. Beginning next Thursday, July 15, travel will reopen to two major Asian markets through a coronavirus pre-testing program.
Gov. David Ige announced Friday, July 9, that beginning next week, travelers from the Philippines and from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport may bypass the State of Hawaiʻi’s mandatory 10-day quarantine if they take a COVID-19 test from a trusted testing partner.
In all cases, the test must be taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure and the negative test result submitted prior to departure for Hawaiʻi. Travelers must upload their negative test result into the Safe Travels digital platform and have a hard copy with them before departing for Hawaiʻi.
“We are delighted to announce that we are expanding our Safe Travels pre-travel testing program to include travelers from the Philippines and South Korea,” Ige said. “Hawaiʻi is also home to many Filipino and Korean Americans, and we appreciate our partners who are helping families reconnect.”
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Philippine Airlines
Travelers flying from the Philippines to Hawaiʻi may bypass the state’s mandatory 10-day quarantine if they take a COVID-19 test from labs identified by Philippine Airlines. The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH) has approved the use of COVID-19 RT-PCR tests conducted by laboratories from the following:
Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
Safeguard DNA Diagnostic, Inc., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
Cardinal Santos Medical Center, San Juan City, Metro Manila
Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, Bacolod City
St. Elizabeth Hospital Inc., General Santos City
Travelers should look to Philippine Airlines for more information online.
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Incheon International Airport – Terminal 2
Incheon International Airport – Terminal 2 has also been certified by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health as a trusted testing partner. Incheon Airport COVID-19 Testing Center provides one-stop services for COVID-19 testing and issues health declaration cards for outbound passengers who test negative.
The testing center is open year-round and online reservations are required. The Testing Center is located inside Incheon International Airport at the west side parking lot, B1, Passenger Terminal 2. Outbound passengers can receive their results on the same day if they take the test between 7 am and 11:30 am, and the following day if they take the test between 1 pm and 6 pm.
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Travelers should look to Incheon Airport for more information online.
In addition to the state’s program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country to the United States. The CDC requirement has been in effect since Jan. 26, 2021.
For international travelers coming to the State of Hawaiʻi, tests from Trusted Testing Partners only will be accepted for purposes of by-passing the state’s 10-day traveler quarantine.
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