Wednesday, August 21, 2024 Hawaii trips face delays as Mokulele Airlines cancels international flights, impacting travel plans and causing disruptions for passengers. Mokulele Airlines, a regional carrier in Hawaii, has grounded the majority of its fleet this weekend due to concerns over possible inconsistencies in the documentation related to landing gear maintenance. This decision has left many passengers stranded throughout Hawaii.
In a letter shared with Hawaii Public Radio, Louis Saint-Cyr, Mokulele’s President of Hawaii Operations, explained that the airline discovered potential issues in its maintenance records. As a precautionary step, the airline decided to immediately ground specific aircraft to conduct detailed inspections before resuming operations. Residents of Moloka’i rely on Mokulele Airlines as their sole commercial link to neighboring islands.
The grounding of a significant portion of the airline’s fleet has left passengers stranded on O’ahu and Maui, prompting them to seek alternative transportation by boat to return home to Moloka’i. The disruption of flights across Mokulele Airlines’ network has significantly impacted travel to and from several key destinations, including Honolulu International Airport, Kahului, Kapalua, Hana, Kona, Waimea, Moloka’i, Kalaupapa, and Lāna’i. As a result, many passengers have had their travel plans disrupted.
The Hawai’i Department of Transportation reported that while Moloka’i was operating at half cap.