Passengers waiting to board Hawaiian Airlines planes Friday morning at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport experienced frustration as flights were grounded and waiting areas became overcrowded.
Passanger Cindu Ku‘upua Whitehawk said she sat on the plane for two hours Friday morning before the finally deboarded.
“I’ve never seen the airport so crowded,” she said. “New arrivals are packed in the boarding area with no seating.”
A Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson said flights were delayed state-wide due to an internet outage.
“About 9 a.m. today (Friday) we experienced a temporary internet outage in Hawaii due to a power disruption at our third-party data vendor during scheduled maintenance,” said Tara Shimooka, External Communications Manager for the airline. “The outage, impacting our Hawaii systems and headquarters, has been resolved, but we anticipate flight delays as our vendor works to fully restore service. We’re working with affected guests and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
Flights at Kona International Airport began boarding again around 12:30 p.m.
“Please note this internet outage is unrelated to our recent passenger service system transition and instead a result of power disruption by our internet provider, DR Fortress, affecting its Hawaii-based customers,” said Shimooka. “Flight safety has not been impacted.”