United Airlines said on Thursday customers traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii would have the option to take a rapid COVID-19 test at the airport or a self-collected, mail-in test ahead of their trip, starting from Oct. 15.

Customers who test negative on either test will not be subjected to the state's 14-day quarantine requirement, United said.

Airlines are pinning hopes on pre-flight COVID-19 tests as an alternative to quarantines that have decimated travel demand.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Aditya Soni) ((SanjanaSitara.Shivdas@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 6749 1642; Twitter: @SanjanaShivdas;))