Are Hawaiis airports ready for the rollout of new traveler arrival rules?
KAHULUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - There are nearly 8,000 passengers flying into and about 10,000 passengers flying out of the Kahului Airport a day. Airport District Manager Marvin Moniz said despite the vaccination passport going into effect for mainland travelers on Thursday, he believes the onslaught of visitors will start to slow down. As Europe and Asia and even Canada start opening up, travelers have other options. Right now, its here in Hawaii thats open so were seeing a big spike, Moniz said. Officials in charge of the states Safe Travels program also predict that screening visitors for vaccination cards will be faster than screening the results of pre-travel tests. With the influx in visitors, Moniz said Mauis airport is adapting. We created some additional space on the north side of the ticket lobby here. So, the queuing of the lines can get expedited. We also increased the staffing escorting passengers through the line. So thats helped a lot, said Moniz. Airlines are also warning their passengers to get to the airport at least three hours before flight time. I was a little bit surprised yeah definitely. But Im from Seattle and it can get pretty busy so Im kind of used to it, said visitor Chris Bahus. Copyright 2021 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.