Alaska Airlines Will Offer Rapid Preflight COVID-19 Testing for Guests Traveling to Hawaii

The carrier has partnered with Carbon Health to offer rapid COVID-19 testing at pop-up clinics across the West Coast starting October 12th in Seattle. From October 15, 2020, the State of Hawaii will waive quarantine requirements for visitors with a recent negative test.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-8 - Courtesy Alaska Airlines

On Wednesday (September 30, 2020), Alaska Airlines announced the launch of preflight rapid COVID-19 testing for guests traveling to Hawaii. In collaboration with Carbon Health, the carrier will offer testing at pop-up clinics across the West Coast starting in Seattle on October 12, 2020. From October 15th, the State of Hawaii will waive their mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving visitors providing they test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their final leg of departure to Hawaii. The Carbon Health pop-up facility in Seattle is located downtown at 220 6th Avenue North and customers can book an appointment starting October 8th. Alaska Airlines’ guests will receive priority testing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT for appointments starting October 12th. The cost for the rapid testing service is $135 and results will be available within two hours.

The program is being rolled out in Seattle first as the carrier will resume twice-daily flights to all four major Hawaiian Islands starting October 15, 2020. Alaska will restart flights to Hawaii from Portland, San Jose and San Diego from November 1st, with the resumption of service from Anchorage and Los Angeles on November 20th. In the coming weeks, Carbon Health plans on rolling out pop-up and full-service across the lower 48 states. In Wednesday’s announcement, Alaska Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Marketing and Guest Experience, Sangita Woerner, said,

"Our guests have been eager to return to the Hawaiian Islands and we're excited to be adding more ways to safely get them there. By assisting our guests with convenient testing options as they prepare for their trip, we're working together to help keep each other, and Hawaii, safe."

Also commenting on the new testing collaboration, Carbon Health’s CEO, Eren Bali, added,

"Carbon Health is excited to partner with Alaska Airlines to support their guests with a safe, responsible way to fly to Hawaii. Our innovative COVID-19 pop-up testing clinics and dedicated rapid test offering to Alaska's guests provide a hassle-free, convenient way for travelers to get tested and see their results within two hours. We look forward to our launch in Seattle and expansion across the West Coast in the coming weeks."

The test administered by Carbon Health is the ABBOTT ID NOW rapid test, which meets the requirements of the State of Hawaii, and is available to all Alaska guests over three months old. Alaska Airlines will continue to share available testing options and has been working with the Port of Seattle to develop future on-site testing at Seattle-Tacoma Airport.

Alaska Airlines and their regional partners serve over 115 destinations in the United States and North America, providing essential service for their guests and critical cargo shipments. The carrier has hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and Anchorage and is known for low fares, excellent service and sustainability efforts. The award-winning airline serves over 47 million guests annually and has been named “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America” by J.D. Power for the last 12 years. Along with their Global Partners, Alaska Airlines’ guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 800 global destinations.

Source: Alaska Airlines