Hawaii Is Getting a Hurricane That Refuses to Move

Tropical Storm Nolo became Hurricane Nolo, and then it stopped moving. A stationary system near the Hawaiian Islands is a particular kind of problem: the winds and rain do not pass through, they sit. At least 21 flights have been cancelled at Hilo International Airport on the Big Island — 13 Hawaiian Airlines and eight Southwest departures across Friday and Saturday, with Hawaiian accounting for 12 Hilo cancellations on its own. More are likely if the storm’s track shifts. Forecasters have warned that anyone travelling to or from Hawaii on Sunday or Monday should be watching conditions rather than assuming a normal schedule.

Every major US carrier serving the islands has issued a waiver, and the details differ enough to be worth reading. Delta’s waiver covers travel to, from or through Kona, Kahului and Honolulu on 26 and 27 September. United has waived change fees and fare differences for affected Hawaii flights between 23 and 28 September, with rebooked travel departing between 22 September and 2 October — an unusually generous window. American and Southwest are both offering flexible rebooking for Hawaii. In each case the waiver is a permission, not an automatic action: passengers have to initiate the change.

Hilo and Kona are bearing the brunt because the Big Island sits closest to the system, but the ripple reaches further. Interisland flying is the connective tissue of Hawaii travel, and a stalled hurricane over one island disrupts the schedule for all of them. Oahu has already seen gusty conditions. Cruise itineraries calling at Hawaiian ports are being adjusted as well, with lines substituting ports rather than cancelling sailings. The practical reading for anyone with a Hawaii trip in the next week: the flight is more likely to move than the holiday is to be lost.

Hawaii’s tourism industry is having a difficult month. Hurricane Lowell struck Kauai on 7 September as a Category 2, and the island is still working through a staged reopening. Tourism leaders spent this week focused on disaster response rather than demand generation. That context matters for visitors weighing whether to cancel: the islands generally want people to come, because the local economy needs them, but they want people who arrive with patience and a flexible itinerary rather than a fixed one.

Sources: Hawaii News Now, TravelPulse