Hurricane Nolo forces 21 flight cancellations at Hilo International Airport

Quick summary

Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines have canceled at least 21 flights in and out of Hilo International Airport on Friday and Saturday as Hurricane Nolo — a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 105 mph — sits roughly 150 miles south-southeast of the Big Island. A hurricane watch covers Hawaii County. Alaska, Delta, American, and United have joined Hawaiian and Southwest in opening fee waivers for affected travelers.

Waiver eligibility is tied to specific purchase and travel dates, and replacement travel under the Hawaiian and Alaska advisories must be completed by September 30. The airport remains technically open, but individual flights are being cut as the storm’s track develops.

Airlines serving the Big Island are not waiting for Nolo to arrive. Hawaiian Airlines pulled its last Hilo departure one evening and its first departure the following morning specifically to avoid leaving an aircraft parked on the tarmac during severe weather — a deliberate pre-emptive move, not a reactive one. Southwest followed with its own cancellations, bringing the combined total to at least 21 flights across Friday and Saturday, according to FlightAware tracking data.

Hawaiian CEO Diana Birkett Rakow confirmed the approach directly, telling Hawaii News Now: “We’re thinning the schedule in Hilo.” That single sentence captures the operational logic: reduce exposure before conditions deteriorate, then rebuild service once the storm clears.

For travelers, the immediate question is whether their ticket qualifies for a fee waiver — and whether they have time to act. The Hawaiian and Alaska advisories cover tickets purchased by September 23 with original travel between September 24 and 27; replacement travel must be completed by September 30. Changes must be made before the original departure, not after. Delta’s exception policy covers travel to, from, or through Honolulu, Kona, and Kahului on September 26–27. American, Southwest, and United have also issued waivers, though terms vary by carrier.

What the cancellations and waivers actually cover

The Hawaii Department of Transportation’s September 26 weather-and-traffic update listed Hilo International Airport as open — while simultaneously advising travelers to confirm operations with their airline before heading to the airport. That gap matters. An open airport and a running schedule are not the same thing, and right now they are not the same thing at Hilo.

Airport personnel placed sandbags around the Hilo terminal building ahead of the storm’s arrival. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reported that tropical-storm conditions were expected to begin Friday night, with hurricane conditions possible Saturday as Nolo passed near or south of the Big Island.

The Hawaiian Airlines travel advisory specifies that same-cabin fare differences are waived on eligible replacement flights — meaning passengers are not on the hook for a higher fare if they rebook into the same cabin class. Changes must be completed before the original scheduled departure, not after the fact.

Hawaiian’s storm experience runs deeper than this week. During Hurricane Lala, the carrier coordinated with the state Department of Transportation to close the airport and send employees home. After Hurricane Lowell disrupted Kauai travel, Hawaiian added flights that same evening to move stranded passengers out. That recovery playbook is likely to apply once Nolo clears.

Why the open airport signal can mislead travelers

Here is what the operational picture actually tells us: an airport’s open/closed status and an airline’s schedule are two independent systems, and they rarely move in lockstep during a storm approach. Hawaii DOT can list Hilo as open because the runways are intact and the facility is staffed — that is the airport’s status. Whether Hawaiian or Southwest has a plane there to operate a departure is an entirely separate question, answered by each carrier’s own risk calculus.

Airlines pre-position aircraft away from exposed airports not because they expect a direct hit, but because the cost of leaving a narrowbody on a tarmac during a Category 2 storm — potential airframe damage, insurance exposure, and the operational complexity of restarting service from a compromised base — outweighs the revenue from one or two additional departures. Thinning the schedule before conditions deteriorate is cheaper than recovering from them.

The disruption extends beyond the passenger terminal. Hawaii DOT harbor planning documents flagged possible heavy-weather restrictions at Hilo and Kawaihae harbors. Travelers who planned to combine a flight into Hilo with ferry or inter-island maritime connections should treat those segments as separately at risk — a flight waiver does not extend to the harbor.

Steps to take before Nolo’s window closes

The waiver deadlines are live right now — and the September 30 rebooking cap means flexibility is real but narrow.

• Act before your original departure, not after: Hawaiian and Alaska require changes to be completed before the scheduled departure time. If your flight is still showing as operating and you want to rebook, do not wait for a cancellation notice — by then, the waiver window may have passed.
• Check each segment separately: A waiver covering Hilo does not automatically cover a connecting leg through Honolulu or Kona. Pull up each segment in your carrier’s app and verify coverage individually, especially if your routing touches multiple Hawaiian airports.
• Verify airport status independently: Check the Hawaii DOT weather-and-traffic page alongside your airline’s flight-status tool. The airport being listed as open does not mean your flight is operating.
• Ask about Kona rerouting: If your destination is the Big Island and Hilo is disrupted, ask your carrier whether a reroute through Kona — on the island’s western side — is available under the same waiver terms. Not all carriers will offer this proactively.
• Account for ground and harbor connections: If your Big Island plans include ferry or inter-island maritime travel, treat those as separately at risk. Storm restrictions at Hilo and Kawaihae harbors are possible independent of any airport decision.

Watch: Nolo’s track over the next 24 hours will determine whether cancellations extend beyond Hilo to Honolulu, Kona, or Kahului — and whether carriers expand waiver dates past September 27. Check your carrier’s advisory page Saturday morning before any airport departure.

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