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 no longer be permitted to have beards, effective April 1, as Alaska Air Group rolls out a combined pilot uniform policy following their merger.
The decision is based on long-standing FAA guidance, manufacturer recommendations, and recent safety assessments regarding oxygen mask efficacy in the flight deck, despite some newer studies challenging these concerns.
This change ends Hawaiian's unusual status as one of the few U.S. airlines that allowed pilot beards, a policy decision management anticipates may be unpopular among pilots.

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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.