146 thoughts on “Testing for Hawaii Travel: Many Questions Await Answers”
Greg
Keep me updated when Hawaiian airlines flight 7 las to hnl resumes August 1.
Thank
You
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Greg.
Thanks and will do.
Aloha.
Bill S
does the “test” need to be done within the 72 hour timeline, or the “results” within the 72 hour timeline?
Mahalo
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Bill.
As it stands today, subject to change obviously, it needs to be done within 72 prior to travel commencing.
Aloha.
Jim R.
Aloha Guys!
Testing at a non-medical facility may affect you receiving results in a longer time span, rather than just going to your Doctor. Mine was understanding to the Travel I need to do, and told me I would get a test. I was also told that I could have results in a short time (less than 72 hours) from my Doctor. My biggest concern is that should a problem arise, because all this crap is beyond my own control (other than going to the Dr. and taking a test 3 days/72 hours before I leave), who is going to incur the expenses for ME not being able to travel, because of other extenuating and potential issues that are beyond my control???
What if, they screw up the test results, and the results aren’t ready before the scheduled departure date/time? What if you have a slight temperature due to being overheated (It’s still hot in August and Sept. in some places). You may not be truly sick…will they let you through the Airport at TSA?
Let me explain what I just went through in my conversation with Hawaiian Airlines (HAL) last night, but let me “set the stage”, first…This is classic!!!
I received the Screaming Deal in March for a direct flight to Maui (OGG) $99 each way, from the West Coast, for an April to May trip. I then booked my mileage on SWA to hop from Maui to the Big Island round trip to get the best deal possible. Yes! I booked a $198 (taxes included) flight to the Big Island!!! Happy Happy! LOL…All while realizing (of course) that I would likely get canceled (which obviously happened), because this was literally when they were starting to shut down the country! BUT…I ensured (via Email correspondence) that I was guaranteed a R/T ticket “anytime on any flight before 12/31/2020”.
Now…Jumping forward to last night!
I contacted HAL to rebook my flight for early August, and I hammered the Gal with lots of (Back-up Plan) questions, including what I already asked above. I had a few more similar questions and scenarios…
I was told that because my flight was to Maui, and that Maui was my “final destination” on their HAL flight, that if I did not have the Negative test results for c0vid, then I would be quar antined on Maui! Awwww, HELL NO! Lol, I hammered her with a LOT more questions! I specified that I had connecting flights on another airlines (SWA, which I honestly had not booked, yet, but was going to), and I was still told that I would have to quar antine on Maui, if I did not have clean test results. I said that makes absolutely NO sense, if I have a flight to move on to my final destination, as I had NO place to stay in Maui!! I then asked is HAL going to put me up in a room and pay for my meals for 14 days? She actually put me on hold to ask, and 5 minutes later said of course not (obviously)! I asked if the State of Hawaii was going to prevent me from traveling to my final destination, and would they be “footing my bill” to stay on Maui, which she clearly did not know. I asked probably half a dozen more questions, before she put me on hold to make some “inter-island” and “secondary airline” clarifications. I was on the phone for well over 45 minutes (total), trying to get answers from their “front line personnel” who answers the phones, with absolutely ZERO results. Finally, when she could not provide adequate (logical) answers, I asked to be transferred to a Supervisor. I was on hold with the Supervisor for well over another 30 minutes (almost 2 hours on the phone combined. repeating all my questions), before I got some actual clarification.
Here is the clarification I was FINALLY given…
You will not have to do a quar antine, IF you land in Hawaii and are “hopping” between islands, IF you do not leave the Airport, and IF your fly on a connecting flight within 4 hours, and that continues for all your layovers/transfers, you have 4 hours to fly. If it is beyond your control due to delays, there was no clarification on that, but I do not think they can force you to stay on a particular island, because of delays past 4 hours. They should be responsible for ensuring you get to your final destination!
You would only have to do the 14 day quar antine at your final destination, if you DO NOT have a confirmed test result, within 72 hours of arrival. If you fly from the Mainland and you DO have a confirmed negative test, once you are in Hawaii, you can fly in-between islands without having a test, as interisland flights no longer require tests to be taken. You will have no quar antine for flying to any island, after you land, and prove you are c0vid free.
This really should be verified from a Government source, just to make it “legitimate”, but Honestly, This whole process is a Cluster (you know what), and there needs to be a far better plan in place. I don’t see this working well, trying to keep track of literally thousands of people. Flights are already starting to get booked for the month of August, on multiple airlines. For me personally, I can take a 14 day hit, should the Crap hit the fan. and something goes wrong, but travelers, who would be forced to lock-down because of no fault of their own are, frankly, going to be pissed off! Just my 2-cents…
Mahalo Guys!
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Jim.
Thank you for this and your nearly 50 other comments. Couldn’t agree more that this is not yet cooked. It will get changed and clarified and should become workable. It has to. We’ll be writing about this a lot more, including within the next hour or so, with some interesting and more workable changes we expect to be forthcoming.
Aloha.
Jeri M
Aloha Jim,
Regarding a 14 day quar antine, it is my understanding, as LG Green spoke about this the other day, that if your pre-travel test is NOT back by the date of travel, you will only need to quarantine until your “negative” test result comes back.. which should be within a day or two. Now on the other hand, if it comes back positive that opens up a different can of worms.
My personal opinion as a Hawaii resident with family and a one year old only grandchild on the mainland that I miss beyond measure, is that people should give serious thought to postponing their Hawaiian vacations until the worst of the pandemic is over or vaccine is available. With our extreme isolation and limited resources tourist travel puts the islands at risk.
With cases on the rise all over the US and the likelihood it will only get worse through the fall it just doesn’t seem safe to be traveling on airplanes.
Mahalo
Jeri
And thanks guys for the great blog.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Jeri.
Thanks! Still pandora’s box. If you’ve reserved a vacation rental, but now need to go to a hotel. Some form of on-arrival testing option is coming – that’s for sure.
Aloha.
TC
These are the risks of traveling during a HIGH RISK Pan demic. I suggest if you can not abide by the consequences then do not travel. Planes are large germ tubes. Not to be rude, but if you do not care for the safety of our community more than your cheap fare then please choose somewhere else because that is not what Hawai’i is about.
Dave R
Well said. It’s so odd that people can’t just wait – a year, if necessary – and travel when things have improved (vaccine, better tests, etc.).
Meanwhile, on the mainland: People traveling to Chicago from 15 states with increasing numbers of confirmed cases of the coronavirus will have to quar antine for two weeks upon arrival or face possible fines of $500 per day(!)Travelers must stay at a single home or other dwelling for 14 days except to seek medical care or be tested for C0VID-19.
Hawai’i is taking a huge chance to open up during a surge on the mainland. Visitors need to recognize that, and show enough consideration not be part of the problem. And finding loopholes is part of the problem.
Mela W.
I can’t get tested unless I have symptoms
Timothy M
Have you spoken with your doctor? I did earlier today and explained the situation and he said he could get me approved to get tested even though I am showing no symptoms. In addition their are FDA approved home test you can do and get the results back with 72 hours.
Tim m
Thanks for this excellent travel blog , I know it’s frustrating for people like me who have trips planned in the next few months ,But I do think we need to give the state of Hawaii a little time to the testing program up with cvs and maybe also Walgreens and rite aid . I understand the state wanted to announce the opening of Hawaii and didn’t have the testing format finalized . This does however need to happen soon as people can’t be left in limbo , big amounts of money and planning go into planning a trip so this testing format needs to get announced in the next week Or or August Trips may be in jeopardy .
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Tim.
Thanks! We couldn’t agree more about the need to get this clarified ASAP.
Aloha
Barney G
Thanks for ALL you do to keep us informed. I’m still hoping testing is figured out by January! In the mean time enjoy the peace and quiet and STAY SAFE!
Sheryl B
IMO… the Governor was under so much pressure with the threat of lawsuits that he had to something that gave the appearance he was opening up to tourists. I believe he knows full well that most people will not be able to get the test results in the required time, which will effectively keep the islands shut down, but he has done what he needed to do to keep the lawyers off his back…for now.
Michelle S
This won’t work. Even if you test negative, you go to an airport full of people who do not need to test to travel to other states and countries. You can still catch it and spread it. Most test results do not come back in 3 days, nor is CVS set up for the amount of testing needed. What happens if your test doesn’t come back in time, or heaven forbid it comes back positive. Are the hotels and airlines going to return your monies? Won’t work…
Kathy C
You will never get tests results back within 72 hours in Arizona…..they are sooo back logged. We cancelked our trip. So many people are in the same boat….
Michelle S.
My thoughts exactly
Eulogio T
Testing asymptomatic people is a good way of controlling this epidemic and should be able free to everyone, Remember for every 100 positive sick people of C0VID, you have another 100 or more well asymptomatic people spreading the disease.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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Keep me updated when Hawaiian airlines flight 7 las to hnl resumes August 1.
Thank
You
Hi Greg.
Thanks and will do.
Aloha.
does the “test” need to be done within the 72 hour timeline, or the “results” within the 72 hour timeline?
Mahalo
Hi Bill.
As it stands today, subject to change obviously, it needs to be done within 72 prior to travel commencing.
Aloha.
Aloha Guys!
Testing at a non-medical facility may affect you receiving results in a longer time span, rather than just going to your Doctor. Mine was understanding to the Travel I need to do, and told me I would get a test. I was also told that I could have results in a short time (less than 72 hours) from my Doctor. My biggest concern is that should a problem arise, because all this crap is beyond my own control (other than going to the Dr. and taking a test 3 days/72 hours before I leave), who is going to incur the expenses for ME not being able to travel, because of other extenuating and potential issues that are beyond my control???
What if, they screw up the test results, and the results aren’t ready before the scheduled departure date/time? What if you have a slight temperature due to being overheated (It’s still hot in August and Sept. in some places). You may not be truly sick…will they let you through the Airport at TSA?
Let me explain what I just went through in my conversation with Hawaiian Airlines (HAL) last night, but let me “set the stage”, first…This is classic!!!
I received the Screaming Deal in March for a direct flight to Maui (OGG) $99 each way, from the West Coast, for an April to May trip. I then booked my mileage on SWA to hop from Maui to the Big Island round trip to get the best deal possible. Yes! I booked a $198 (taxes included) flight to the Big Island!!! Happy Happy! LOL…All while realizing (of course) that I would likely get canceled (which obviously happened), because this was literally when they were starting to shut down the country! BUT…I ensured (via Email correspondence) that I was guaranteed a R/T ticket “anytime on any flight before 12/31/2020”.
Now…Jumping forward to last night!
I contacted HAL to rebook my flight for early August, and I hammered the Gal with lots of (Back-up Plan) questions, including what I already asked above. I had a few more similar questions and scenarios…
I was told that because my flight was to Maui, and that Maui was my “final destination” on their HAL flight, that if I did not have the Negative test results for c0vid, then I would be quar antined on Maui! Awwww, HELL NO! Lol, I hammered her with a LOT more questions! I specified that I had connecting flights on another airlines (SWA, which I honestly had not booked, yet, but was going to), and I was still told that I would have to quar antine on Maui, if I did not have clean test results. I said that makes absolutely NO sense, if I have a flight to move on to my final destination, as I had NO place to stay in Maui!! I then asked is HAL going to put me up in a room and pay for my meals for 14 days? She actually put me on hold to ask, and 5 minutes later said of course not (obviously)! I asked if the State of Hawaii was going to prevent me from traveling to my final destination, and would they be “footing my bill” to stay on Maui, which she clearly did not know. I asked probably half a dozen more questions, before she put me on hold to make some “inter-island” and “secondary airline” clarifications. I was on the phone for well over 45 minutes (total), trying to get answers from their “front line personnel” who answers the phones, with absolutely ZERO results. Finally, when she could not provide adequate (logical) answers, I asked to be transferred to a Supervisor. I was on hold with the Supervisor for well over another 30 minutes (almost 2 hours on the phone combined. repeating all my questions), before I got some actual clarification.
Here is the clarification I was FINALLY given…
You will not have to do a quar antine, IF you land in Hawaii and are “hopping” between islands, IF you do not leave the Airport, and IF your fly on a connecting flight within 4 hours, and that continues for all your layovers/transfers, you have 4 hours to fly. If it is beyond your control due to delays, there was no clarification on that, but I do not think they can force you to stay on a particular island, because of delays past 4 hours. They should be responsible for ensuring you get to your final destination!
You would only have to do the 14 day quar antine at your final destination, if you DO NOT have a confirmed test result, within 72 hours of arrival. If you fly from the Mainland and you DO have a confirmed negative test, once you are in Hawaii, you can fly in-between islands without having a test, as interisland flights no longer require tests to be taken. You will have no quar antine for flying to any island, after you land, and prove you are c0vid free.
This really should be verified from a Government source, just to make it “legitimate”, but Honestly, This whole process is a Cluster (you know what), and there needs to be a far better plan in place. I don’t see this working well, trying to keep track of literally thousands of people. Flights are already starting to get booked for the month of August, on multiple airlines. For me personally, I can take a 14 day hit, should the Crap hit the fan. and something goes wrong, but travelers, who would be forced to lock-down because of no fault of their own are, frankly, going to be pissed off! Just my 2-cents…
Mahalo Guys!
Hi Jim.
Thank you for this and your nearly 50 other comments. Couldn’t agree more that this is not yet cooked. It will get changed and clarified and should become workable. It has to. We’ll be writing about this a lot more, including within the next hour or so, with some interesting and more workable changes we expect to be forthcoming.
Aloha.
Aloha Jim,
Regarding a 14 day quar antine, it is my understanding, as LG Green spoke about this the other day, that if your pre-travel test is NOT back by the date of travel, you will only need to quarantine until your “negative” test result comes back.. which should be within a day or two. Now on the other hand, if it comes back positive that opens up a different can of worms.
My personal opinion as a Hawaii resident with family and a one year old only grandchild on the mainland that I miss beyond measure, is that people should give serious thought to postponing their Hawaiian vacations until the worst of the pandemic is over or vaccine is available. With our extreme isolation and limited resources tourist travel puts the islands at risk.
With cases on the rise all over the US and the likelihood it will only get worse through the fall it just doesn’t seem safe to be traveling on airplanes.
Mahalo
Jeri
And thanks guys for the great blog.
Hi Jeri.
Thanks! Still pandora’s box. If you’ve reserved a vacation rental, but now need to go to a hotel. Some form of on-arrival testing option is coming – that’s for sure.
Aloha.
These are the risks of traveling during a HIGH RISK Pan demic. I suggest if you can not abide by the consequences then do not travel. Planes are large germ tubes. Not to be rude, but if you do not care for the safety of our community more than your cheap fare then please choose somewhere else because that is not what Hawai’i is about.
Well said. It’s so odd that people can’t just wait – a year, if necessary – and travel when things have improved (vaccine, better tests, etc.).
Meanwhile, on the mainland: People traveling to Chicago from 15 states with increasing numbers of confirmed cases of the coronavirus will have to quar antine for two weeks upon arrival or face possible fines of $500 per day(!)Travelers must stay at a single home or other dwelling for 14 days except to seek medical care or be tested for C0VID-19.
Hawai’i is taking a huge chance to open up during a surge on the mainland. Visitors need to recognize that, and show enough consideration not be part of the problem. And finding loopholes is part of the problem.
I can’t get tested unless I have symptoms
Have you spoken with your doctor? I did earlier today and explained the situation and he said he could get me approved to get tested even though I am showing no symptoms. In addition their are FDA approved home test you can do and get the results back with 72 hours.
Thanks for this excellent travel blog , I know it’s frustrating for people like me who have trips planned in the next few months ,But I do think we need to give the state of Hawaii a little time to the testing program up with cvs and maybe also Walgreens and rite aid . I understand the state wanted to announce the opening of Hawaii and didn’t have the testing format finalized . This does however need to happen soon as people can’t be left in limbo , big amounts of money and planning go into planning a trip so this testing format needs to get announced in the next week Or or August Trips may be in jeopardy .
Hi Tim.
Thanks! We couldn’t agree more about the need to get this clarified ASAP.
Aloha
Thanks for ALL you do to keep us informed. I’m still hoping testing is figured out by January! In the mean time enjoy the peace and quiet and STAY SAFE!
IMO… the Governor was under so much pressure with the threat of lawsuits that he had to something that gave the appearance he was opening up to tourists. I believe he knows full well that most people will not be able to get the test results in the required time, which will effectively keep the islands shut down, but he has done what he needed to do to keep the lawyers off his back…for now.
This won’t work. Even if you test negative, you go to an airport full of people who do not need to test to travel to other states and countries. You can still catch it and spread it. Most test results do not come back in 3 days, nor is CVS set up for the amount of testing needed. What happens if your test doesn’t come back in time, or heaven forbid it comes back positive. Are the hotels and airlines going to return your monies? Won’t work…
You will never get tests results back within 72 hours in Arizona…..they are sooo back logged. We cancelked our trip. So many people are in the same boat….
My thoughts exactly
Testing asymptomatic people is a good way of controlling this epidemic and should be able free to everyone, Remember for every 100 positive sick people of C0VID, you have another 100 or more well asymptomatic people spreading the disease.