Southwest Airlines will fly between Oakland, Calif., and Honolulu with U.S. safety regulators on board today as it seeks to secure approval for commercial flights to Hawaii.

The carrier said the “validation” flight is for communication and navigation processes. The noncommercial flight will be the first time a Southwest aircraft has landed in Hawaii.

Southwest said the flight follows it receiving Federal Aviation Administration approval last week on “table-top” exercises as part of the process to gain required certification for flying long distances over water. The airline faces additional “table-top” exercises and flights as part of that process.