As Hurricane Lane inches closer to Hawaii, travelers who caught flights off the islands Wednesday night were relieved to beat the storm and land at DFW International Airport early Thursday morning.
"I wouldn't want to be there right now," said Justin Fassano, a passenger on board one of those flights.
He and Nicole Kingsley had planned a long trip from their home in Australia to Canada and figured since they'd be flying over the Pacific Ocean, they might as well stop in Hawaii and spend a few days there.
Overall, they say the trip lived up to their expectations.
"It was beautiful," said Kingsley. "We had great weather."
But as reports came in that a Category 4 hurricane — a phenomenon they're not used to dealing with at home — was headed straight for them, they admit they grew anxious towards the end of their trip.
"Just as we were at the airport boarding the flight [to Texas], we got the message alerting everyone about the hurricane, saying take shelter," said Fassano.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"I was terrified," said Kingsley. "I was like get me back to Australia."
They said they were breathing a lot easier once they got out of harm's way and were eager to catch their connecting flight out of DFW to Canada.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation said all airports in the state will remain open barring any infrastructure damage that make flight operations unsafe.
Officials recommend that anyone traveling to or from Hawaii check with their airline to learn the status of their flight.
