By Canadian Press

Hawaii getaway

New testing deal will allow Canadian passengers to avoid quarantine in Hawaii

Nov 20, 2020 | 10:48 AM

People seeking sunny days and hot temperatures for the holidays are being offered a new opportunity by Canada’s major airlines.

Calgary-based WestJet and Air Canada have signed an agreement with the state of Hawaii to allow guests travelling to the islands a chance to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

In order to do so, the airlines are offering pre-flight COVID-19 testing for all passengers.

A negative test within 72 hours of departure to Hawaii will allow passengers to disembark from the plane and enjoy their vacation, quarantine-free.

Air Canada’s flights to Hawaii from Vancouver begin on December 17 with four weekly flights to Maui and three weekly flights to Honolulu. From Calgary, flights to Maui begin on December 18.

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The chart listed below shows the inital flight schedules for WestJet from the Vancouver and Calgary International Airports, starting next month:

Courtesy: WestJet

“Safety remains our number one priority and we thank Governor Ige and the State of Hawaii for providing this opportunity for Canadians to enjoy all that the islands have to offer while safely supporting the tourism industry,” said Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet Chief Commercial Officer.

“WestJet’s teams are working hard to rebuild confidence in air travel through important partnerships like this one with Hawaii’s Trusted Travel Partner program and DynaLIFE.”

“Many Canadians love to visit Hawaiʻi during the winter months to escape the cold weather, so the timing for this works well. Hawaiʻi has the most rigorous pre-travel testing program in the United States, and we’re grateful to WestJet for making it available to their passengers,” said Hawaii’s Governor David Ige.

Since the pandemic began, Hawaii has recorded 16,734 cases and 223 deaths.