Residents returning to Hawaiʻi are accustomed to whipping out a pen to fill out the agriculture declaration forms handed out and collected by flight attendants.
New visitors, on the other hand, are sometimes left scratching their heads (and asking around for a pen). Starting March 1, the process could be paperless for many arriving passengers.
"Their first time to Hawaiʻi, they have no clue what to do. So like, there's this expectation, 'Do I do it? Do I not? Is there going to be this compliance structure?' And the form, the way that the department's really looked at it historically, is as a very good educational tool," said Jonathan Ho, plant quarantine branch manager for the state Department of Agriculture.
Travelers have to note plants and animals they are bringing to the islands, even accidentally. The process is meant to protect the state from invasive species and unwanted creatures.
"Probably about 75% to 80% of flights, people declare something, apples, oranges, you know, I think what you would consider more common things," Ho added. "So the form works, right. It's to what level is it effective."
Officials gathered Monday at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu to launch Akamai Arrival, a pilot program that will roll out digital declaration forms.
"It's going to be helpful for our state, but most importantly, it's our biosecurity weapon. So it's not just about safeguarding for biosecurity and agriculture, it's about protecting the global ecosystems," Gov. Josh Green said at the unveiling.
Digitizing the forms will also give agriculture officials more time to react to declarations, which currently are unknown until a plane lands in Hawaiʻi and releases the paper forms, Ho said.
He said that making the process electronic has been a long time coming, and the pandemic's public health measures paved the way for connecting passengers with required forms.
The state Legislature passed a law in 2024 to allow the process to become completely electronic, with forms sent to travelers before they board.
Local officials have been using paper forms since before statehood. People back then probably didn't expect the millions of visitors Hawaiʻi now receives annually, Ho said.
The specifics of the new process are up to the airlines, and Ho said most will communicate information about the required forms before the flight via email and during the flight with in-flight internet.
"Because they're all doing it slightly differently, you'll be able to kind of see which touch is the most effective, right, so, and in my estimation, it's going to be while people are waiting to get onto the plane," Ho told HPR.
The Akamai Arrival pilot program will run from March 1 to May 31 on select routes operated by major domestic airline carriers. All American and Southwest flights into Hawaiʻi are part of the program.
After that period, the Agriculture Department will consider feedback and changes, Ho said.
"I think we're going to assess, you know, I think with the airlines, like, how effective is it? Can you guys roll it out to all your flights? How much time is it going to take?" Ho said. "Because if it is effective, I don't see why you wouldn't continue to expand upon it.”
This interview aired on The Conversation on Feb. 25, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
