Hawaiian Airlines joins United in offering pre-flight COVID-19 tests
Thursday morning, United Airlines shared plans to provide COVID-19 testing for Hawaii-bound travelers once the islands reopen to tourists (without a mandatory 14-day quarantine) next month.
I was a bit surprised that it wasn't Hawaii's namesake airline kicking off the initiative, given how absolutely critical testing is to getting the carrier's operation back off the ground. Still, we didn't have to wait long for Hawaiian Airlines to join the fight.
Friday morning, the carrier confirmed that it too would help facilitate pre-flight tests. Beginning "around Oct. 15," Hawaiian will partner with Worksite Labs to provide drive-through PCR testing near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Related: Hawaii pushes back its reopening date to at least Oct. 15
Worksite Labs will offer the Droplet Digital PCR shallow nasal swab test for $90, with results within 36 hours, or $150 for "day-of-travel express service."
For now, the service will only be available near LAX and SFO, though Hawaiian expects to roll it out to other U.S. gateways soon.
Currently, Hawaiian Airlines is only scheduled to offer LAX and SFO service to Honolulu (HNL) during the month of October, with Los Angeles to Kauai (LIH), Kona (KOA) and Maui (OGG), and San Francisco to Maui all joining the schedule on Nov. 2.
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