Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) regional unit, 'Ohana by Hawaiian, will temporarily suspend direct flights between Kaunakakai (Molakai) and Kahului (Maui) until mid-December due to scheduled aircraft maintenance, reports The Maui News.
The flights are operated for Hawaiian by Empire Airlines (EM, Coeur d'Alene) using ATR42-500 equipment, of which Empire has three.
Under the revised routings, the direct flight from Molokai and Maui is suspended, as is one flight between Molokai and Honolulu (Oahu).
Although services to Honolulu, Kahului and Kapalua are still provided by Mokulele Airlines (MHO, Kona) and Makani Kai Air (Honolulu), residents are concerned that these airlines can't accommodate passengers with disabilities.
State Representative Lynn DeCoite has said that this is a busy time of year for local travel, and the reduced capacity will put a strain on other providers.
"We fully understand the community's concerns and recognize that during this period our guests will have reduced options to travel to Honolulu or Maui," the airline said in a statement. "We specifically designed our modified schedule to ensure our Molokai guests who depend on our flights continue to have reliable daily service to Oahu and Maui to conduct regular travel, commute or attend medical appointments."
