Don’t cancel that Hawaiian vacation just yet.
Although there’s increased volcanic activity and a new flow of lava from the Kīlauea volcano on the island of Hawaii (the Big Island), the Hawaii Tourism Authority website is reassuring visitors that no flights into airports anywhere in Hawai‘i are being affected and that the area where the lava is coming to the surface is very far from resort areas.
For updates, photos and webcam views of the volcano activities, see the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website.
That’s the good news.
The bad news: due to the volcanic activity there is a no-fly zone over Kīlauea volcano and on Friday Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was closed until further notice because of damage caused by earthquakes and aftershocks in the area.
So helicopter tours and visit to the park are out.
There’s still plenty to do on the Big Island, but some airlines are offering travel waivers for those who don’t want to head that way right now.
For those with tickets issued on or before May 3 and scheduled to travel to/from Hilo (ITO) or Kona (KOA) on Hawaiian Airlines through May 13, the airline is offering change fee waivers for flights no later than May 20,
United Airlines is offering to waive change fees for those traveling to/from or through the Hilo (ITO) and Kailua-Kona (KOA) airports for those with tickets for travel through May 13 for new flights departing on or before May 16.
Other airlines flying to Hawaii may post waivers later today and this, of course, is a changing situation, so be sure to check your airline’s website and the USGS alerts for current news.
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