Delta to revive nonstop flights from MSP airport to Maui

Delta Air Lines is trying again with a nonstop route from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Maui — offering Minnesotans a second direct entree into Hawaii beginning in December.

The connection from MSP to Maui’s Kahului Airport is at least the second attempt. Delta previously announced the route in June 2023. Then on Aug. 8, destructive wildfires broke out in West Maui’s Lahaina, killing 102 people and decimating the tourist town. Delta scuttled its plans indefinitely.

The carrier re-announced the route Friday, Feb. 13, in a Hawaii-themed celebration for workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, as the garnish of a profit-sharing announcement in which $113.7 million will be allocated to Delta’s Minnesota employees. That equates to four extra weeks of pay for 8,900 local workers, according to a Delta release.

Jeannine Ashworth, Delta’s vice president of airport operations for MSP, said the airline always intended to bring expanded Maui service back.

“We were hoping it was going to happen in 2025, but we were waiting for the infrastructure to get where it needed to be,” Ashworth said. “The fires in Maui really hurt Maui. And they’re back, which is great. And it’s great for Minneapolis.”

Delta has long offered nonstop service from MSP to the capital Honolulu, but Minnesotans have lacked a second nonstop to the 50th state. An eight- to nine-hour nonstop flight to Kahului Airport (OGG) would shave at least two hours off a connecting flight via Los Angeles, Seattle or even Honolulu.

Although MSP fliers often pay a four-digit premium for the nonstop to Honolulu, when MSP-to-Maui was first scheduled in 2023, some introductory basic fares in the $500s were sold before the flights were canceled. Ashworth suggested there would again be introductory fares when flights go on sale on Valentine’s Day.

Amid the bitter recovery from the wildfires, Maui and Hawaii in general have seen something of a backlash against tourism. Maui saw 2.5 million visitors in 2025, down 14% from 2022. The Maui County Council recently passed a bill to eliminate thousands of short-term vacation rentals, such as Airbnbs, to shore up housing for locals by 2029 or 2031.

That will shift the focus back to traditional hotels, including the luxury resort region of Wailea, where the Four Seasons Maui was the original setting for HBO’s “The White Lotus.”