Following a series of earthquakes that have hit the big island of Hawaii this week, the island’s Kilauea volcano erupted on Thursday, releasing lava into a nearby residential area.
The eruption has led to the mandatory evacuation of homes in the area.
So far, most airlines that travel to Hawaii, including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, have not announced any changes or cancellations as a result of the volcano eruption.
The only exception so far is Hawaiian Airlines, which shared a travel update on Twitter announcing a “one-time reservation change with waiver of change fee” for travelers flying to, from, or via Hilo or Kona airports on the big island.
#Kilauea Travel Update: Effective immediately, guests holding tickets for travel on Hawaiian Airlines flights to/from/via Hilo (ITO) or Kona (KOA), Hawaii, on 5/3-5/4, will be permitted a one-time reservation change with waiver of change fee. More info: https://t.co/lOYN4BofdK.
— Hawaiian Airlines (@HawaiianAir) May 4, 2018
Kilauea is the most active volcano in Hawaii, erupting almost continuously since 1983, according to the U.S. Geological Service. Several hundred to a thousand people live in subdivisions some 25 miles from Kilauea and received mandatory evacuation alerts on Thursday.
As of late Thursday local time, the USGS said the lava eruption had stopped but there may be more “lava outbreaks.”
“It is not possible at this time to say when and where new vents may occur,” the agency said.
In November of last year, Bali’s primary airport was closed for several days due to the eruption of Mount Agung. And the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland in 2010 famously caused days of air travel headaches.
