“The United States has no information in its possession and is not aware that Delta airs anything similar to the ‘Travel Pono’ video on its flights,” prosecutors said, according to a defense filing obtained by Newsweek.
“The Government cannot investigate and produce evidence showing that passengers traveling aboard other airlines were warned about Hawaiian monk seals while simultaneously arguing that evidence establishing what Defendant’s actual airline told—or did not tell—him is irrelevant,” they added.
The defense wants to subpoena Delta for records of the late-April flight that brought Lytvynchuk from Seattle to Maui, arguing that evidence could be relevant to his state of mind.
The Inertia reached out to the office of Myles Briener this week for further explanation, but had yet to receive a response at the time of publishing. It’s worth noting that Hawaiian Airlines’ Travel Pono initiative was a voluntary effort established by the airline in 2021.
“We all have a shared responsibility to mālama (to care for) our guests, and in return, we ask that they care for us and our home,” John De Fries, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, said at the time. “We thank Hawaiian Airlines for taking a leadership role in educating visitors about how to respect and nurture our people and place, for the well-being of our communities throughout the state.”
Igor Lytvynchuk’s trial was set to begin November 16, 2026, but it’s now been postponed until January 19, 2027.
