Maintenance issues have prompted Southern Airways Express and Mokulele Airlines to ground their fleets for the second time in less than a year. Combined, the two carriers operate a fleet of around 40 Cessna Caravan aircraft.
According to Hawaii’s Star Advertiser, the company stated that Mokulele’s pause in service is due to maintenance and an “abundance of caution.” The airline did not provide details into the issue or how long it would take to fix.
South Arkansas Regional Airport – one of the airports served by Southern – said operations are expected to resume within 48 hours. “At this time, the specific reasons for the nationwide grounding have not been disclosed to us,” the airport said in a Facebook post.
In August, Mokulele grounded several of its aircraft over maintenance problems. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors flagged the issues.
The two airlines are part of the Surf Air Mobility group and serve smaller markets within the U.S. Many of the airlines’ flights are federally subsidized under the Essential Air Service program.
