Hollywood actor Jason Momoa has urged people to stay away from Hawaii in the face of continuing wildfires.
The star, who was born in Honolulu and also serves as Yas Island, Abu Dhabi's chief island officer, took to social media on Friday to ask people not to visit Maui after the island was ravished by fires.
“Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now,” wrote the Aquaman star on Instagram.
“Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply,” he added.
On Sunday, he used his Instagram platform to share a post from the non-profit Hawaiian organisation Aina Momona, repeating the message that travellers should not visit Maui.
“This is not the time to continue on with your vacation. Go home. People have lost everything,” reads the post to his 17.2 million followers.
“Maui needs access to as many resources as possible and can’t afford to have tourism take priority over this tragedy.”
The post also directs people towards volunteering and fundraising efforts that are helping Maui in the wake of the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaii’s history.
The Hawaiian Tourism Authority previously urged tourists not to travel to West Maui, the region most affected by the wildfires.
“Visitors who are on non-essential travel are being asked to leave West Maui, and non-essential travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged at this time,” said the authority.
Are flights still operating to Hawaii?
Kahului Airport on Maui remains open, but is sheltering evacuees and stranded travellers.
A runway at the airport has been closed to accommodate cargo operations for airlifting supplies into Maui, said the Hawaii Department of Transportation on Saturday, although this will not have an impact on commercial flights.
Most major airlines flying to and from the tropical destination have issued flight waivers following the wildfires. This includes Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
