Passengers attempt to rest and sleep after canceled and delayed flights while others wait to board flights off the island as hundreds of passengers were stranded on the Kahului Airport (OGG) within the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Airlines added flights to get travelers off of Maui after wildfires on the Hawaiian island killed at the least 36 people and prompted evacuations.
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines said they were adding service to assist customers leave. Greater than 11,000 people have been flown off the island for the reason that fires began, Ed Sniffen, the state’s transportation director, told a news conference late Wednesday local time, NBC News reported. Much of the seaside town of Lahaina had burned down, after the fires were fanned by winds from Hurricane Dora.
Hawaiian Airlines said it had added six additional Maui flights on Thursday and that it’s using larger planes between Honolulu and Maui to maneuver passengers in addition to water, food and other essentials. The carrier discouraged travelers without reservations from coming to Kahului Airport in Maui due to crowding.
“While we’re currently operating our full schedule and have seats available on flights out of Maui today, we’re concentrating our resources on transporting essential personnel and first responders,” the carrier said. It also warned of possible disruptions on other routes “as we work to support essential travel needs for Maui.”
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the carrier plans to operate all the scheduled flights to and from Kahului Airport on Thursday. A spokeswoman said the carrier has “added an extra flight and upgraded an aircraft today to make sure customers evacuating OGG are capable of accomplish that.”
The airline swapped out Airbus A321 narrow-body planes, which might seat about 190 passengers, for a number of the flights for a Boeing 777-200, considered one of the most important planes in its fleet, which have 273 seats, in line with American’s website.
Southwest Airlines also said it was adding service to Hawaii from the U.S. mainland and intra-island flights.
United Airlines said it has canceled Thursday’s inbound flights to Kahului Airport, but that it’s flying aircraft in empty to select up travelers on Maui.
Alaska Airlines said it added a “rescue flight” on Thursday, bringing the carrier’s total departures from Maui to nine.
“Our important concern is the security of our employees and guests,” the airline said in an announcement. “We’re assessing the addition of more rescue flights to assist get people off the island.”
All major airlines waived fare-differences and cancellation penalties for travelers whose trips were impacted by the fires.