Airport Question

[vacay77]

For those of you who have flown into HNL recently and did the COVID testing 72 hours before arrival, when you arrived at the HNL airport, was it a long process to get checked before you can leave the airport? This is for those of you who didn’t get a wristband beforehand.

Basically my family and I are scheduled to arrive in HNL via American Airlines a hour and a half before the rental car agency closes for the day. I’m worried our flight will be delayed and I’m not sure how long the process will be at the airport once we arrive.

 

[cgattis]

For those of you who have flown into HNL recently and did the COVID testing 72 hours before arrival, when you arrived at the HNL airport, was it a long process to get checked before you can leave the airport? This is for those of you who didn’t get a wristband beforehand.

Basically my family and I are scheduled to arrive in HNL via American Airlines a hour and a half before the rental car agency closes for the day. I’m worried our flight will be delayed and I’m not sure how long the process will be at the airport once we arrive.

We had to return a car before opening, and Enterprise had clear and detailed instructions posted. Maybe they have after hours pickup arrangements too. If you can get the direct number for your rental agency, you could ask; the 1-800 numbers never know jack.

 

[vacay77]

We had to return a car before opening, and Enterprise had clear and detailed instructions posted. Maybe they have after hours pickup arrangements too. If you can get the direct number for your rental agency, you could ask; the 1-800 numbers never know jack.

Unfortunately, they said that they can’t guarantee they’ll be open past 7 pm. They said that they have been staying open past 7 pm lately due to passengers arriving late but they won’t guarantee it.

 

[FoodieFriend]

I returned to HNL at the end of March & United gave us wristbands on our last leg of the trip. The people who did not have wristbands were in an extremely long line & the United workers trying to distribute wristbands (in Houston) warned those who refused to get a wristband that the waits at HNL could be 2-3 hours. That line REALLY looked like it wasn't moving quickly. There seemed to be a room where 4-5 people at a time would be ushered in to show their QR code and ALL airlines without wristbands are being funneled into one line, so it's a LOT of people.
If your airline isn't giving out wristbands, I'd advise making sure ALL your info is uploaded to the Hawaii Safe Travels website. have your profile saved, upload your negative covid test to your account using the "upload" button, answer the questionnaire 24 hours before your flight then make sure you are given a QR code. Make sure each person in your group has a QR code too. While I didn't wait in the non-wristband line, it looked really really long & slow.
There were SO many people who were trying to get wristbands & had not done any besides take their covid test. I think one guy couldn't get a wristband & I could only assume he didn't use a trusted partner for his covid test.

 

[suzy_q]

I had heard there was a separate line for ko olina. Is that still the case?

 

[FoodieFriend]

I had heard there was a separate line for ko olina. Is that still the case?

I did not notice a separate line for anyone, it looked like anyone without a wristband was corralled into a single very long snaking line to verify their QR code. No one was being asked if they were going to Koolina, it was strictly wristband or no wristband. The only thing i saw posted recently about the airport is that they have a lounge area (which i assumed was after you cleared covid check) available for guests that were going to Koolina or leaving Oahu from Koolina. No clue if anything has changed since March 23rd which is when i returned home.

 

[nkereina]

I can't speak to wait times, but it might be worthwhile to use a taxi or a private car service from the airport to Aulani (or whatever resort) so you don't have to stress about the rental car office being closed. Assuming you're staying at Aulani, you can adjust your rental car reservation to pick up from Aulani for Alamo or pick up from the Marriott Ko Olina, which is walkable, for Enterprise. You could pick up the next morning to save yourself the cost of the car/parking on the first night, which might help offset the cost of the transfer from the airport.

 

[vacay77]

I can't speak to wait times, but it might be worthwhile to use a taxi or a private car service from the airport to Aulani (or whatever resort) so you don't have to stress about the rental car office being closed. Assuming you're staying at Aulani, you can adjust your rental car reservation to pick up from Aulani for Alamo or pick up from the Marriott Ko Olina, which is walkable, for Enterprise. You could pick up the next morning to save yourself the cost of the car/parking on the first night, which might help offset the cost of the transfer from the airport.

That is good to know! I didn't realize there is an Enterprise location at the Marriott Ko Olina. I ended up using my points to book a rental at Enterprise. I was finally able to reach the Enterprise office at the airport. They were extremely nice and they said that if looks like my flight is delayed, etc, to just give them a call and they will take the rental car to their sister company National (which is also at the airport) . National doesn't close until 9 pm. Whew. I had to speak to 4 different people prior to that who gave me different kinds of info. The people that I spoke to previously wanted me to just cancel my reservation - and rebook (at a higher rate, of course) at a car rental company that is open past 7 pm.

 

[monsterkitty]

I can't speak to wait times, but it might be worthwhile to use a taxi or a private car service from the airport to Aulani (or whatever resort) so you don't have to stress about the rental car office being closed. Assuming you're staying at Aulani, you can adjust your rental car reservation to pick up from Aulani for Alamo or pick up from the Marriott Ko Olina, which is walkable, for Enterprise. You could pick up the next morning to save yourself the cost of the car/parking on the first night, which might help offset the cost of the transfer from the airport.

The satellite rental desks are not open at this time. You will need to rent your car at the airport.

 

[cgattis]

finally able to reach the Enterprise office at the airport. They were extremely nice

That’s great. That’s exactly the kind of service we got from them on three islands! (And boy did it make for a sharp contest with the Avis bunch on Kauai ) People prob think they’re paying me because I mention it here so often, but I was extremely satisfied with how they treated us all around. They definitely made me an Enterprise fan.

 

[nkereina]

The satellite rental desks are not open at this time. You will need to rent your car at the airport.

This is true for now, but just thought it was worth mentioning since I don't believe we know how soon OP is traveling. To my knowledge, those offices will re-open eventually and are only temporarily closed.

 

[monsterkitty]

This is true for now, but just thought it was worth mentioning since I don't believe we know how soon OP is traveling. To my knowledge, those offices will re-open eventually and are only temporarily closed.

I agree. However, with the car shortage and rental agencies not being able to replace the ones they sold during the early days of the pandemic, it might be quite awhile before they reopen.