At least 21 Hilo flights cancelled due to Hurricane Nolo

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hurricane Nolo is already disrupting flights for hundreds of travelers.

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Flightaware.com reports 13 Hawaiian Airlines and 8 Southwest flights in and out of Hilo Airport on Friday and Saturday have been cancelled so far. More cancelations or delays will depend on what happens with Nolo.

Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow sat down with Hawaii News Now to talk about how the carrier is preparing for the storm.

Among the cancelations — Hawaiian Airlines’ last flight out of Hilo last night and the first flight this morning. so no aircraft would be on the ground during extreme weather.

“We’re thinning the schedule in Hilo and we’re just going to continue to watch it and continue to adapt. The team is working on this stuff 24/7 to make sure that we’re flying the right flights and not flying when we shouldn’t be,” Rakow said.

Anyone traveling to and from Hawaii on Sunday or Monday should monitor conditions.

“Our highest priority is to make sure that everybody is safe. That means our guests and our teams,” she added. “Just check your flight in closer to the to the time of the flight just to make sure that you got the latest.”

Read more First Alert Forecast: Nolo’s eye remains south but gusty winds and squalls possible

Rakow said they have several contingency plans in place, taking lessons from recent storms.

“If warranted and this happened during Lala, we closed the airport, working in concert with the Department of Transportation and sent our teams home. So we look at a lot of different scenarios and we’re prepared, but you know pull those triggers when we need to,” she said.

And should we see airport snarls like what happened on Kauai after Hurricane Lowell, Rakow says they’re ready.

“We flew extra flights that evening to get guests who had been delayed during the day out by the end of the day, and then made sure that we got the remainder of those guests out the following day,” she said.

If you can postpone flying this weekend, Hawaiian is offering a flexible travel policy if you would like to change or cancel your flight.

American, Delta, Southwest and United are also offering travel waivers for certain flights this weekend. Contact your carrier for your options.

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