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Aloha from Hawaii! We just landed and I wanted to share a helpful tip for anyone flying to the Hawaiian islands. On March 1, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) launched a new pilot program called Akamai Arrival, which allows travelers on select domestic flights to complete the mandatory Plants and Animals Declaration Form digitally instead of on paper. The program is currently scheduled to run through May 31.
If you’ve flown to Hawaii before, you probably remember the old paper agricultural form flight attendants passed out before landing, usually one per family. It’s similar to a landing card for international flights, and you needed a pen handy, which became even more of a hassle during the pandemic when no one wanted to share personal items.
According to the Governor’s Office, the purpose of the pilot is to “test the effectiveness, compliance and use of the online form,” while enhancing Hawaii’s biosecurity and making the arrival process smoother.
On our American Airlines flight from LAX to Honolulu, boarding began at 8:25am for a 9:15am departure, which was earlier than expected. I got a push notification while still relaxing in the Admirals Club Lounge. By the time my family and I got to the gate, they were already boarding Zones 5 and 6 and we were Zone 1.
The gate agent announced that all passengers needed to scan a QR code and complete the declaration form online. I scanned it, filled it out and texted the link to my wife so I could share it with you here.
Here’s what the first page of the form says:
State of Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture
Plants and Animals Declaration Form
For All Passengers, Officers and Crew Members – Mandatory Declaration
ALOHA and Welcome to Hawaiʻi! Many plants and animals imported into the State of Hawaiʻi can be harmful to our unique environments, endemic species, and agricultural industries. Please help us to protect Hawaiʻi by not introducing harmful pests into our state.
HAWAIʻI STATE LAW REQUIRES YOU TO FILL OUT THIS AGRICULTURAL DECLARATION FORM.
Any person who defaces this declaration form, gives false information, or fails to declare prohibited or restricted articles—including those in carry-on, checked baggage, or cargo—may be in violation of Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes §150A-5(A). Penalties include fines up to $25,000 and/or up to one year of imprisonment. Intentionally bringing in snakes or other prohibited items could result in a felony charge and up to $200,000 in fines or five years in prison.
Only one adult per family needs to complete the form.
The form is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Unlike the paper version, this digital form no longer includes the optional survey on the back.
You’ll then be asked if you’re bringing in any items like:
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Fresh fruit and vegetables
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Soil, growing media, or sand
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Cut flowers and foliage
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Rooted plants, plant cuttings, or algae
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Microbial cultures
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Raw or propagative seeds or bulbs
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Live animals (e.g., dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, insects, amphibians, fish, seafood)
After that, you enter your personal details. Once submitted, you’ll receive an email confirmation from the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Ours went straight to spam, so keep an eye out there.
Onboard, the flight attendants made another announcement reminding everyone to complete the form before pushback, which caused a bit of a scramble around us. I offered to AirDrop the link to a family sitting behind us (since typing that URL is next to impossible), but luckily, a flight attendant was also walking around with a photo of the QR code on her device.
I asked one of the crew what happens if someone doesn’t have a smartphone or their battery dies. She said it hasn’t come up yet. Still, this is a good reminder to pack a portable power bank. Another flight attendant shared that one time, the plane couldn’t deplane in Hawaii until 80% of the passengers had completed the form.
The good news is that you can fill the form out before your flight. I tried a month ago, but it didn’t work, likely because the program hadn’t officially launched. If the link doesn’t work for you right away, make a note to do it the day before. I personally use FollowUpThen to set email reminders for things like this (and for canceling free trials before they start charging me).
Not all airlines are participating in the pilot program yet. As of now:
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American and Southwest flights are fully participating.
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Delta has only one flight.
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United has two.
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Hawaiian Airlines has three.
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Alaska Airlines has eight.
You can view the complete list of participating flights here.
I’m confident this program will eventually roll out to all flights. Let’s just hope they come up with a more user-friendly URL when that happens.
On a related note: This week the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced it’s rolling out a “digital travel credential.” This shift is expected to be so transformative that paper forms that foreign country require for landing and even paper passports will be a thing of the past when everything is moved to biometrics. Here’s what you need to know.
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