Hawaiian Airlines Pilots Lose Rare Beard Exception

New combined standard with Alaska Airlines takes effect this month.

Ryan Ewing

Friday, April 03, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

A Hawaiian Boeing 717 [Credit: Shutterstock/ Ritu Manoj Jethani]

Key Takeaways:

Hawaiian Airlines pilots will lose their long-standing allowance for beards as Alaska Air Group rolls out a combined uniform and appearance policy following their merger.
The ban on beards, effective April 1, is justified by the combined airline citing long-standing FAA guidance, manufacturer recommendations, and flight deck safety concerns regarding oxygen mask effectiveness.
This decision aligns Hawaiian Airlines with most other U.S. carriers, despite some recent studies suggesting that facial hair may not compromise oxygen mask performance.

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Hawaiian Airlines pilots will lose a long-standing and unusual allowance for beards as Alaska Air Group rolls out a combined pilot uniform and appearance policy following the carriers’ merger.

In an internal email dated March 23 seen by AirlineGeeks.com, Alaska system chief pilot Scott Day told pilots that a “significant” revision to the flight operations manual (FOM) would be released April 1, including updates to the uniform and appearance policy. He said all Boeing 787 pilots would also begin transitioning to the Alaska uniform on April 20.