Hawaiian Airlines has announced it will suspend some flights to Japan later this month amid travel fears in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Flights to Tokyo's Haneda Airport that operate three times a week between Kona International Airport and four times a week between Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport will temporarily stop, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The changes go into effect March 28 and will extend through April 29, the start of Golden Week, a normally high travel period for visitors from Japan, company officials said. Golden Week is a series of national holidays in Japan that take place within one week at the end of April to the beginning of May each year.
“Japan is a vitally important market for our airline, and we have been looking forward to launching our third nonstop flight between Honolulu and Haneda,” Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the spread of COVID-19 beyond Asia has diminished near-term global travel demand.”
Currently, the airline operates 42 weekly flights between Hawaii and Japan, but the new schedule will reduce operations to 35 weekly flights between the two countries, Hawaii News Now reported. The airline has already suspended some travel to South Korea.
Hawaiian Airlines has offered to assist any travelers impacted by the changes by providing re-accommodations on alternative flights or refunds.
The changes are not expected to affect Hawaiian Airlines' plans to launch an additional daily nonstop service between Honolulu and Haneda, which was announced in November, company officials said.
