DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines says it has gained government approval to begin flights between California and Hawaii, capping a long effort that was delayed by the government shutdown.
The airline's chief operating officer, Mike Van de Ven, told employees Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration granted the authorization.
"The FAA today officially authorized Southwest to operate [...] Extended Operations flights that, among other potential routes, technically will allow us to serve Hawaii, a previously announced intention," Southwest said in a statement to WFAA. "We have Teams now finalizing our plans to offer service to Hawaii, and we’ll publicly announce our timing for inaugural flights and other service when we publish our schedule in the coming days."
Southwest plans to launch flights to Hawaii from four cities in California.
The airline needed FAA certification of its ability to operate long, over-water flights where the options for emergency landings are few. In recent weeks Southwest has operated several test flights with FAA personnel on board to monitor such things as navigation and communications.
The airlines says more information on its Hawaii routes is available at southwest.com/hawaii.
