Hawaiian Airlines has announced that it will resume flights to Tahiti in French Polynesia following the launch of a pre-travel testing program between Hawaii and French Polynesia that allows for quarantine-free travel within the two archipelagos.
Starting 7th August 2021, Hawaiian Airlines will fly nonstop 1-time-a-week between Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and Tahiti’s Fa’a’ā International Airport. The schedule for the flight is:
- Honolulu-Tahiti
- Departure time: 15:35
- Arrival time: 21:30
- Flight time: 5 hours and 55 minutes
- Flight number: HA481
- Frequency: Only Saturdays
- Tahiti-Honolulu
- Departure time: 23:30
- Arrival time: 05:15
- Flight time: 5 hours and 45 minutes
- Flight number: HA482
- Frequency: Only Saturdays
The airline will deploy a Airbus A330-200 aircraft featuring 18 lie-flat first class seats and 260 standard economy class seats on these flights.
Peter Ingram, President and CEO, Hawaiian Airlines, said:
We look forward to reconnecting our islands, but most importantly, reconnecting family members who have not seen each other for over a year. We appreciate the tremendous work by the governments of French Polynesia and Hawaiʻi to open up travel between our regions.
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Both Hawaii and French Polynesia will implement strict travel requirements for resident and visitor safety. Passengers travelling from French Polynesia to Honolulu must complete and upload a negative test result from the Institut Louis Malardé, a state-approved testing partner, to the state of Hawaiʻi’s Safe Travels program. Those travelling from Honolulu to French Polynesia will need to provide proof of vaccination and must have fulfilled the government of Tahiti’s COVID-19 entry requirements prior to travel. Those not compliant will be subject to a 10-day quarantine.
David Ige, Governor, Hawaii, said:
Many of Hawaiʻi’s residents have family in Tahiti, and welcoming our guests from French Polynesia to Hawaiʻi is an important step in maintaining the close relationship between our two regions.
Hawaiian first started to serve French Polynesia in June 1987. The carrier suspended flights to Tahiti in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier’s resumption of flights is made possible by the new pre-travel testing program established by Hawaii Governor David Ige and French Polynesia President Édouard Fritch – a result of low COVID-19 cases within the two destinations.
Featured image by Conde Nast Traveller
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