Mokulele Airlines temporarily grounded most of its fleet over the weekend, leaving dozens of passengers stranded.

The airline identified “potential discrepancies in documentation of a recent landing gear servicing” on one of its aircraft, according to an Aug. 17 letter to customers from Mokulele President of Hawaiʻi Operations Louis Saint-Cyr.

As a precautionary measure, the company made the decision to ground certain aircraft starting Aug. 17 while thorough inspections were conducted.

For residents of Moloka’i, Mokulele is a lifeline and their only means of commercial transportation to neighbor islands. The situation left dozens of residents stuck on Oʻahu and Maui, attempting to get boat rides home to Moloka’i.

Massive flight cancellations also reportedly left residents missing medical appointments, job interviews and other critical off-island needs. The Lāna’i community is similarly affected.

The cancellations affected flights to and from Honolulu, Kahului, Kapalua, Hana, Kona, Waimea, Moloka’i, Kalaupapa and Lāna’i, according to the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation. The DOT said Mokulele operated at half capacity on Sunday and had stopped taking reservations over the weekend altogether.

During this time, the airline said it’s giving priority to medical patients and those with connecting mainland flights.

“The Mokulele team has been working diligently to safely and efficiently return our fleet back to service through their maintenance checks,” said Saint-Cyr in a statement provided to HPR on Monday.

“Though we are not yet at full capacity, we are close to having all flights running on their regular schedules. We have successfully re-accommodated the vast majority of our passengers, and we greatly appreciate the continued flexibility and understanding from the Hawai’i community.”

The airline said if it is unable to accommodate passengers, it will issue a voucher for the current flight, as well as a voucher for a future round-trip ticket.

This comes after residents have expressed years of frustration with Mokulele’s service. Most recently, the airline announced its 28-seat Saab aircraft is grounded until further notice due to the unavailability of a replacement engine. This caused another series of delays in recent weeks.

Following a merger between Mokulele Airlines’ parent company Southern Airways and Surf Air Mobility, the airline is now under new management in Hawaiʻi as of June. Surf Air is a Los Angeles-based regional platform with the goal of expanding regional air travel through electric flight.

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