The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Southwest Airlines approval to begin flights between California and Hawaii following the successful completion of ETOPS proving flights.
“The FAA officially authorized Southwest to operate ETOPS or Extended Operations flights that, among other potential routes, will technically allow us to serve Hawaii, as previously announced," the Texas-based LCC said in a statement. "We have teams now finalizing our plans to offer service to Hawaii, and we’ll publicly announce our timing for inaugural flights and other services when we publish our schedule in the coming days."
The carrier had previously hoped to complete its ETOPS certification in time to begin Hawaii ticket sales last year. However, it was forced to shelve those plans following the 35-day partial government shutdown, which began in late December.
Southwest has previously stated it will offer flights from four cities in California - San José, US, Oakland International, Sacramento International, and San Diego International - to four of the Hawaiian islands, including Oahu, where Honolulu is located. CEO Gary Kelly has also spoken of the potential to offer flights within the Pacific island chain, located 3,860 kilometres southwest of the US mainland.
