 Seattle quake rattles former Hawai'i residents
6.8 quake jolts Pacific Northwest
Were you there? Join a discussion on the earthquake.
By Glenn Scott and Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writers
Travelers flying between Honolulu and Seattle had to endure anxiety and some delays yesterday after earthquake damage forced a temporary shutdown of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, but passengers on direct flights eventually were assured of departures.
Airlines also offered to reschedule trips for customers booked on Seattle flights yesterday and today.
Travelers flying into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport can anticipate more uncertainty today, as safety measures limit the frequency of arriving passenger jets.
Seattle resident Charlene Leschinsky was waiting yesterday to board a United Airlines flight to San Francisco en route home when she heard the news. She had been on a weeklong vacation on O‘ahu’s North Shore. She called home immediately.
"I was terrified just not knowing how my family was," she said while waiting in the boarding area.
Leschinsky had worried her 7-year-old might have been injured on his journey to school when the quake struck. But her husband assured her over the phone that everything was fine. "Things seem to be OK," she said. "Things swayed in our house."
Soon after the quake, United agents at Honolulu International Airport were broadcasting updates over the intercom as travelers — some going to Seattle — waited to board flights.
Two airlines, Northwest and Hawaiian, each had two nonstop flights from Honolulu to Seattle scheduled yesterday. After hearing that the quake-rocked airport had been reopened, both airlines announced by mid-afternoon that their flights would go ahead.
Hawaiian officials said the company’s two nonstop flights — initially scheduled for departure at 2:05 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. -Êwere rescheduled to depart for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after midnight. Flight 22 was to leave Honolulu at 12:20 a.m., and Flight 24 was to depart at 2:40 a.m.
The Hawaiian aircraft then were expected to load waiting passengers for the airline’s two regularly scheduled trips to Honolulu today on Flights 21 and 23. Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said passengers who wanted to reschedule reservations for those flights could do so without penalties.
Northwest flight 924 departed from Honolulu at 4 p.m. yesterday, almost two hours late. Airline spokeswoman Mary Beth Schubert said flight 946 overnight remained on schedule for its 9:45 p.m. departure.
Schubert also confirmed that the airline has declared a "weather waiver" for passengers traveling with confirmed tickets through Seattle today and tomorrow. She said passengers may reschedule travel to or from Seattle through March 7 without penalties.
Meanwhile, some passengers from Seattle reached Honolulu by the end of the day yesterday. Schubert said Northwest’s flight 945 from Seattle was to arrive in Honolulu at 9:08 p.m. tonight.
All departures have resumed from Seattle, but airline officials said they weren’t certain yet about direct and connecting routes into the city. Northwest officials, for instance, suggested that passengers stay in touch.
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