HONOLULU (KHON2) — It’s been a travel nightmare for hundreds of Mokulele passengers trying to get or from Molokai.
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The airline grounded a portion of its fleet Saturday due to maintenance issues, and said it’s working to get planes back in the air by mid-week.
But many Molokai residents spread out across the state for the three-day weekend, only to receive a text message Saturday night that their flights would be canceled on Sunday, and some wouldn’t be able to get home until Wednesday.
Andrea Dudoit was in Honolulu when she said she got a text from Mokulele saying her 6 a.m. flight on Sunday was canceled.
“There was a number I could call if I needed to get out, and that’s what I did,” she said. “I ended up going on a waitlist, and maybe around 2:30 a.m., I was talking to a Mokulele customer service person and they said there was a 9 a.m. flight this morning so I got on that with my cousin,”
She said she’s happy Mokulele was able to contract TransAir temporarily.
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“When we went to Mokulele this morning in Honolulu, it wasn’t as crowded as it usually is, but we checked in, and we waited a bit, there was a TransAir Cargo plane there which held 24 of us passengers, which is the equivalent of three planes for Mokulele, and we boarded and arrived back home on Molokai,” Dudoit said.
Even state Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D) Hana, Upcountry Maui, Lanai, Molokai, was stuck on the Friendly Isle.
“I know it’s tough and it’s frustrating for many of us who live on Molokai,” she said. “And it’s also been tough for the family members that were trying to come back to visit with other family members, we did have a funeral here on Molokai, some of which have been stranded, private boats have been hired to move individuals.”
She said she’s received numerous calls from frustrated residents as far away as Hilo.
“You don’t want to be flying on a plane that has mechanical problems, all to well we’re quick to jump in and then we start to go off on employees, and it’s not their fault, yeah?” she said on residents’ frustrations.
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On Saturday, Mokulele said it had to ground a portion of its fleet so it could inspect and address potential issues with their plane’s landing gear.
The airline said it’s conducting additional inspections but is expected to have limited flights through Tuesday night. Transair Cargo has been assisting with flying passengers to and from Molokai in the meantime.
Residents said there have been issues for years.
“We’ve talked about an extension of the runway,” Sen. DeCoite said. “It will come with a heavy price tag [$90-$100 million], you know, the sentiment on the ground is people don’t want to see bigger airlines coming into Molokai, but what other option do we have?”
She said she has reached out to different airlines but they tell her it would cost a lot of money to bring in smaller planes to rural areas and they would barely break even to remain in operation; and would be looking at charging nearly $350 for a roundtrip flight.
“I know the community won’t sit well with that,” she added.
The runway expansion would add 2,000 feet in length and 50-feet width. However, the surrounding land is “Department of Hawaiian Homelands,” which requires beneficiary consultation, explained DeCoite.
“Where they weigh in on the island-wide and regional plan. Again, you have to imagine how many extra seats those planes hold coming to an island that’s infrastructure can’t take on the additional amount of people,” she said.
The temporary, partial grounding is also a huge blow to Molokai businesses, who have had to provide refunds to visitors who were forced to cancel their hotels and tours.
Sandy Rosas and her husband said Molokai was supposed to be the highlight of their trip, but instead of going from Maui to Molokai, they flew to Oahu.
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“Unfortunately, our flight was canceled around midnight. We received refunds from Hotel Molokai and our Halawa Valley tour, but that’s a bummer for the companies over there, it has a big impact on them, and it’s not income they’re receiving,” Rosas said. “For us, this is just an inconvenience, but for the local residents, [the airline] is a lifeline.”
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