No passengers on direct flights from the mainland have arrived at Hilo International Airport since the state entered lockdown on March 26 to prevent spread of the COVID-19 virus.
That’s not the case for interisland travel: A slow but steady stream of out-of-state visitors flew to Hilo via other airports throughout the state.
According to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, 55 out-of-state visitors arrived at Hilo International Airport between April 1 and April 20 via interisland flights.
At the same time, hundreds of Hawaii residents have traveled to Hilo via interisland flights during the same period.
Nearly every interisland out-of-state visitor to the Big Island departed from Honolulu, with the exception of two passengers who arrived in Kona via Kahului.
All told, 1,201 out-of-state visitors have traveled between the islands between April 1 and April 18.
At a presentation before the Hawaii County Council on Wednesday, Ross Birch, executive director of the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau, said about 80% of the visitors still arriving on the Big Island are not tourists, but people with personal connections on the island itself. Birch guessed many of them are people who have lost jobs on the mainland and are returning to the Big Island to “hunker down” with family.
Another 10% of out-of-state visitors are medical staff, Birch said, while some of the remaining 10% are owners of property on the island.
However, all interisland travelers are still subject to the state-mandated 14-day quarantine upon disembarking at their final destinations.
Birch told the council that interisland travelers have their temperatures scanned before departure, and anyone with a high temperature will be turned away and will be unable to board their plane. Those who are able to board must then fill out forms detailing their personal information and travel plans, which are then compiled into a master list by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority then operates under a “three-strike policy,” Birch said.
“We make three calls,” Birch said. “If you’re staying in an accommodation that has a reception area, that we can make contact with, we’ll call that hotel immediately upon your arrival at the airport.”
If HTA fails to reach the quarantined traveler after three calls, then the traveler’s information is forwarded to Hawaii County Civil Defense and the Hawaii Police Department.
That process appears to have been followed in the case of three Washington visitors who were arrested Wednesday in Hilo after flouting their quarantine. The trio — 39-year-old Caleb Conrad, 27-year-old Matthew Young and 24-year-old Makynzie Anderson, all from Everett, Wash. — posted a $500 bail and were ejected from their lodging at the Grand Naniloa Hotel. Police declined to say where they were staying after they left the Naniloa.
An improved system of tracking passengers will be implemented by the Department of Transportation in the coming days. According to a DOT news release, arriving passengers on trans-Pacific flights will have their temperatures taken upon arrival and will sign a legal document acknowledging their understanding of the 14-day quarantine order.
After signing, an airport representative will confirm in person whether the traveler’s contact phone number is valid, and DOT employees will conduct follow-up calls to ensure travelers are complying with their quarantines.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@tribune-herald.com.
