It’s hard to fathom just how vital air service is to some of the more remote communities in the US, and possibly none have suffered quite as much as Molokai and Lānaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. Last week, the islands were cut off from the rest of the world for the second time in a year when flights operated by Mokulele (actually Southern Airways Express under the Mokulele name) 9-seat Cessna Grand Caravans were suspended due to maintenance concerns. This is no mere inconvenience in an place like this.
While those of you who have been to the rest of the Hawaiian islands that are open to the public know that there are plentiful flights on multiple airlines both to other islands and to the mainland, it is a completely different world on Molokai and Lānaʻi which lie between Oʻahu and Maui. Despite being in a similar predicament, the islands couldn’t be more different from each other.
Lānaʻi is a rich personʻs island. Literally. Nearly all of it is owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison. It is also the home of two very fancy Four Seasons resorts. A little more than 3,000 people live on the island, and itʻs those resorts that have powered the islandʻs small economy ever since pineapple dried up and went to cheaper countries.
Molokai is the opposite with almost no reliance on tourism. As youʻve seen in my various trip reports here, Molokai is remote. It has one independent hotel, some condos, and thatʻs about it. This is an island thatʻs meant for the locals, and itʻs one of the only places that really supports a more traditional way of life for those who want it. Itʻs also much bigger than Lānaʻi with about 8,000 people.
When it comes to transport, neither place has many options. Lānaʻi has three daily flights to Kahului with another 7 to 8 over to Honolulu, all flown by Mokulele. This is Essential Air Service (EAS), but no subsidy had been required… until last year Now the feds have agreed to provide Mokulele with about $4 million a year to keep it going. Lānaʻi also has service from Lānaʻi Air on Pilatus PC-12s and Cessna SkyCouriers, but those are meant to transport resort guests in style from Honolulu. They arenʻt there for serving the local community.
On Molokai, there are actually two airports. The primary airport in Hoʻolehua has 10 or 11 daily to Kahului and 19 or 20 a day to Honolulu, all unsubsidized. Mokulele is the only game in town at this airport, and no other airline has flown in since Hawaiian shut down its regional operation during the pandemic. There are another 12x weekly down to Kalaupapa which is an isolated area on the northern side of the island where those with Hansenʻs Disease (leprosy) were forced to relocate for decades before there was a cure. Thatʻs a whole different issue down in Kalaupapa, so Iʻll ignore that for today.
Back in August and then again last week, Mokulele suspended service due to some vague maintenance inspection concern, putting the islands out of reach despite being easily visible from Oʻahu and Maui, less than 50 miles away. The people who live there rely on Mokulele to get to doctor appointments, go shopping, get to high school sporting events, you name it. Even while other neighbor islands have received more resources directly, Molokai and Lānaʻi remain just as dependent if not more on connections with the other islands.
So what happens when Mokulele shuts down? Not much. There is a twice weekly Young Brothers barge which brings in materials to Molokai from Honolulu. (Lānaʻi has one weekly barge.) Thereʻs also Kamaka Air which does run air cargo to the islands. Looks like you can ship 45 pounds for $33.28 right now. And yes, Lānaʻi still does have a ferry that goes over to Māʻalaea on Maui. Molokai lost its ferry link to Maui in 2016. That is really the extent of things.
Cancellations arenʻt the only problem here. There are also big delay issues, but itʻs hard to get exact numbers on that for such a small carrier. All you need to do is search online and youʻll find stories like this one talking about how grave a threat it is to the residents for service to be so unreliable.
How bad is this situation? The state of Hawaiʻi says that it will issue a “tender” for a never-ending charter contract to act as backup if Mokulele canʻt get its act together. Yes, it has such little trust that it is willing to pay a charter carrier to be a backup. Just let that sink in.
In the meantime, the people of Molokai and Lānaʻi just continue to try to live their lives the best they can despite all the disruptions. Itʻs not easy, and they deserve better than what theyʻre getting today.
40 comments on “Molokai and Lānaʻi Deserve Better as Air Service Trouble Leaves Them Stranded Again”
Always sad to see these places that are so reliant on even the smallest of air services not getting them because of various circumstances.
By the way Brett, somewhat off-topic to this article, but we’ve already had the first failed airline of 2025 in Malaysia’s True Air (formerly SKS Airways). Normally it would probably go into the Tomb of the Unknown Airline (like MYairline did a few years ago), but this one is interesting because they actually had an order for E2s at some point. I know it’s really really early, but it might deserve a full blurb for Airlines We Lost 2025, if only for the E2 order and how Southeast Asia rarely gets representation in the year-end obituaries.
This brings the philosophical question. Is access to air service a right?
Many people prefer to live way away from the city and other people. This ranges from people who live way out in the sticks to people in Alaska who live totally off the grid.
But then should they expect the state (or feds) to subsidize air service for their convenience and emergencies?
The state of California doesn’t pay tax dollars for air service so Cranky can get to doctor appointments.
Seems to me that some folks want to have their cake and eat it too. They want some traditional lifestyle, no tourists no outsiders, but when it comes time to need something then they want us to pay to get it to them, or get them to it.
And for the record I’ve been to Molokai so I have a personal understanding of that island.
I don’t mean to take this too political. Definitely don’t want some right left argument here, but I just wanted to add it for the discussion.
John G – I’ll point specifically to Molokai here where the service to MKK is EAS but it is unsubsidized. It’s not a huge market, but it’s one that can make money for one airline. It seems to me that if one airline is going into the market, then it should take on the responsibility of providing a reliable level of service.
But on the broader point, I say that yes, the government does have a responsibility to provide air service to places that are inaccessible otherwise. This includes Alaska and possibly some remote parts of the lower 48 like eastern Montana. That’s part of the social contract of being a part of the United States.
I see your point for Molokai.
But I do question why if someone chooses to live hundreds of miles from a doctor’s office, it’s the duty of the taxpayers to pay for them to fly to one.
It’s their right to live off the grid. It doesn’t make it my responsibility to financially support their ability to do so, does it?
John G – These aren’t people who moved to Molokai just because they want to be remote. These are people who have lived there for generations or they are there for work reasons (like agriculture or utilities). They didn’t ask for the US to take over the kingdom, nor did they ask for their youth to be lured away thanks to bigger job opportunities. When the US decided to take over Hawai’i, it made a promise to the people that it needs to uphold. I don’t care how long it’s been.
Exactly! The nation has a duty to all its citizens, more so for Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians.
Not trying to start a discussion but you can literally make the same argument for ANY service the government provides (roads, healthcare, Amtrak, etc). The post office can’t deliver mail to Molokai profitably. Does that mean they shouldn’t get mail? I don’t have a car and yet my tax dollars pay for other people’s roads. Why should I pay for other people to drive when they could live in a city and walk to work like the rest of us? And yes, while your gas tax does to building roads, so does a lot of federal funding that didn’t come from a gas tax.
While I dislike EAS immensely (for example – Ogdensburg International Airport receives EAS service and its an only hour drive from Syracuse), I do think for places like Alaska and Hawaii it represents the only option. People in Ogdensburg have options but on some of these islands, they simply do not have other options.
Ogdensburg has EAS because deregulation removed its prior service obligation. Having airline service has direct economic advantages even before you add in any academic multipliers on 2nd and 3rd and 4th level downline benefits.
I assure you that if everyone who lives somewhere they have to drive moved to the cities that your tax money would be spent on other infrastructure that would suddenly be completely overwhelmed or in response to negative consequences.
I guess you can take it all one step further. I work, I don’t have any kids, I’m healthy. Why should I pay for those who are any different?
And if not air service, then a subsidized boat/ferry service. Might not be the most convenient, but allows freedom of movement, just like taxpayer funded highways do on land.
Re: Molokai, I can see an argument in favor of some form of passenger connectivity to Oahu OR Maui, but I don’t see why it would necessarily have to come in the form of air service.
Ferry service to Maui would seem to make the most sense.
A real, unmentioned issue here is that the residents of Molokai want it both ways. They want connectivity, but not so much that it makes it “too easy” for lots of people/tourists to hop to and from the island.
Another unmentioned issue is how the environ-“mental” folks out there shoot down the idea of ferries because it might hit a whale, the engines run on petroleum-based fuels, etc.
Remember Lanai is also home to a cat sanctuary
Lanai does have a ferry that goes to Maui
I’m an outsider and am probably missing something obvious but… Molokai and Lana’i are close enough to Honolulu that it seems like an island-hopping ferry “should” work to connect those islands (and perhaps others). It looks like a ferry was tried in the past but failed due to low demand.
Has the cost for air travel between the islands been so low historically that there just wasn’t much demand for an even cheaper (but much slower) method for public passenger transportation? A ferry might also serve as an intermediate option (in terms of cost & time) for cargo transportation, fitting between the plane & barge options.
To John G’s point above, I sympathize with the transportation challenges for those who live in rural/remote areas (and am NOT a “big city” person myself), but that’s part of the tradeoff that living in such areas entails, and there’s nothing stopping people from moving to areas with better economic opportunities & transportation (which has happened in the past 100+ years in most parts of the US, as the population has become increasingly urbanized).
Again, while trying to avoid direct politics… If transportation is going to be government subsidized (which is a separate debate, including government funding for roads/infrasturate/ports/airports/etc), how is the choice made to subsidize particular modes/routes over others? Call me a cynic, but I feel like most of these “rural transportation subsidy” projects are focused towards benefiting the most politically powerful company/voting bloc, not on spending taxpayers’ dollars most effectively.
I’m not an expert on the subject in any way, but here’s a video I watched a while back on why the ferry service didn’t work out: https://youtu.be/34Ojnyi9xLw
Kilroy – Oh the ferry… it’s a giant mess of a politicial problem. Just look up articles on the Hawaii Superferry to see how that got derailed.
There are other issues with a ferry. First of all it wouldn’t connect into the nation’s air transportation system so it’s fine in theory for local interisland but not beyond that. There is also the issue of the seas actually being quite rough between the islands, so it’s not a very pleasant experience.
Waaaay back in the good ol’ daze, I sailed on <40 footers between Oahu, Molokai, and Maui. 'tis not for the faint of heart!
Alaska has taken this responsibility successfully for years. They run a robust car ferry system with much longer distances and very rough seas.
Honestly I lay more of the responsibility at the doorstep of the state government than at an airline.
Cranky – if you haven’t read the DOT docket for Kalaupapa EAS, you should. There’s a recent letter from the HI Health Dept talking about the necessity of the service and the way it’s needed including travel patterns of the Health Dept staff. It’s a very good read and makes a lot of the points that you make.
You can buy a ticket as a non-resort customer on Lana’i Air, but yes they are twice the price of Mokulele.
I’ve been to these islands, and flew there on Mokulele. I’m overall a big proponent of Essential Air Service (my air service consulting to a couple of EAS cities aside) but agree Hawaii is more “Essential” than anywhere else but perhaps Alaska which has different guidelines to account for more unique situations.
I hear Mokulele (and Southern) shut down over some suspected illegitimate parts found in their inventory so aircraft had to be checked to ensure certain parts were legitimate. Aircraft newly delivered to them weren’t impacted because presumably they haven’t been through whatever maintenance cycle would replace or repair that part. It didn’t get a lot of mainland news coverage because, to be honest, Southern canceling flight after flight isn’t news. Nearly every community they serve is trying to get rid of them for horrific reliability. Heck, in Muskegon they canceled their flights on their last day of service and even stranded their own staff who was there to close down the station and take their IT equipment out.
Perhaps in Hawaii there is a need to, as the state is trying with its charter tender, split the service between two carriers – assuming that it would be feasible economically.
NedsKid – I’ve read the docket. I didn’t want to get into it here, because it really is a different issue than anything else. That one has no real demand, but it’s about a promise made long ago. Still, for the handful of people there, the medical connectivity is so important, and we are failing them.
You could literally charter a 172 in an emergency, or perhaps the Coast Guard provides backup as it does in Alaska. If that fails, my grandfather kayaked from Oahu to Molokai years ago, so I imagine a regular * boat will do.
Curious how long it took your grandpa to kayak!! Was it something he did regularly? *wow!
Are there any seaplanes in Hawaii? Seems like those would be an obvious choice to charter in this situation or set up an air taxi service like in Alaska.
Jason – Seaplanes don’t work very well because there aren’t really protected harbors where they could regularly operate. I mean, sure, Pearl Harbor maybe, but that has a little problem with the US military being there.
Kind of a classic reaping sowing situation
As a resident of Hawaii and monitoring the situation quite closely due to family members also on Molokai during the shutdown, the cancellation of Mokulele to Molokai had a very large impact on the residents of the island, especially those who fly to Oahu for health reasons. It is no secret that one of the main sources of passengers on these flights are not tourists, but residents who fly back and forth to Molokai for medical reasons. Because of the limits of healthcare services on Molokai, most patients who need more specialized care (cancer treatments for instance) rely on the service to get them to and from the main hospital in Honolulu that provides that treatment. Furthermore, there are other social groups on Molokai that need to get to the other islands for the variety of reasons that groups like volleyball teams, government officials and even construction workers on other islands but working on Molokai, need the service.
So when Mokulele shuts down abruptly like this, it left the residents scrambling for options. Some were able to through planes chartered to Molokai to transport need-to-travel folks. My family was able to get out, but the whole experieince of dealing with Mokulele and their inability to be firm on commitments throughout left many in Hawaii scratching their heads, and angry that we are still depending on such inconsistant service.
Maybe the people of Molokai should pass taxes to pay for additional confirmed service?
Didn’t the locals reject airport runway expansion allowing larger aircraft?
Yes, they did. And even the Senator for the district has stated that larger planes/longer runways is something that the community may not want. So there is a condundrum.
Let me see if I can explain to y’all my issue with Molokai. Having been there several times.
A majority of the people on that island are very strongly opposed to tourism and development. To the point that they sabotaged the utilities of a Sheraton hotel/golf course on the west side of the island until Sheraton gave up and abandoned it. Last I was there it’s still sitting there moldering.
A big chunk of the island is owned (or at least was) owned by the Molokai Ranch. They also tried some smaller scale tourist development, but locals went after that also. There have also been incidents of locals hassling visitors. I saw it myself.
These people don’t want any outsiders, tourists, or whatever.
But when they can’t pay the bills, they want assistance from the state. And they don’t want outsiders flying in, but they want someone to subsidize flights for them to get to Maui or Honolulu to shop or go the doctor.
They want their cake, they want to eat too, and they want someone to pay for it.
It bothers me.
And no before you ask I would never wear a red hat and I’m not celebrating the recent change in DC. It’s just something thst irks me.
John – Again, there is no subsidy for these flights on Molokai. None of them, except for Kalaupapa which is completely different and unrelated.
But why do you or any other outsiders get to dictate to the people of Molokai how they should live? Just because someone wants to build a resort, they don’t have to like it. It may not be how I would run the island, but it is their land and good for them for having chosen a path they like. AND again, there is no subsidy for these flights.
CF- I understand where your heart lies here, but there’s a difference between “not liking” a resort and resorting to vandalism to ensure that it doesn’t happen.
John G’s post is not asserting that the flights were subsidized. He’s laying out the majority position of those on Molokai as he understands it, which is reflected by the anecdotal evidence he presents.
He’s not saying anyone on the “outside” gets to dictate how they live. He’s just saying they get to make their choices within the limits of the law, but they they should not expect to be rescued from the natural consequences of those choices. Sounds fair to me.
I’ve been to Molokai a dozen times and the same thing irks me. Most of the locals are on government assistance. The only tax payers there are the businesses that haven’t been forced out and the people on the west end living arond the old Sheraton. It’s a giant mess there; not like anyone is preserving the land or Hawaiian way of life. IT’s more like Tijuana than Hawaii. The land is covered with invasive trees and brush and these axis deer that eat every plant they can causing massive runoff which has wiped out the coral. Yes, the root of the problem was Americans trying to grow pineapples etc. And don’t get me started on the water for the west end!
IluvHawaii – A runway expansion isn’t the right thing to do anyway. There is no world where jets are going to make money in this market despite what people may hope and dream. Extending a runway only makes sense if there’s a broader plan to build and bolster tourism on the island and that ain’t happening. So no reason to waste the money.
Wow, that is quite frustrating. Pity Hawaiian dropped Ohana, I can see why, but I wonder if their new owner would reconsider, especially given their experience with remote communities in Alaska. Could an E-175 land on Molokai and L?na?i?
Zack – Not reliably, no. But they also aren’t likely going to consider bringing in E 175s for those routes only. They can’t fly regionals on the other routes per the pilot agreement.
Extremely surprised with state government knowing the issues they did not demand some type of plan from AS on how they would deal with this problem. The state was part of the negotiations between AS and HA and gave the merger their blessing. Yes AS would have needed to purchase 2 Turboprops and provided maintenance support. Yes they would have lost money on these routes, but they could have slightly increased fares over their entire network to make it work. Seems to me the state government has failed the good citizens of these islands. Also why has the route not been EAS–especially when Hawaii politically has always voted Democratic?
RC – The route IS EAS. It’s just unsubsidized because Mokulele hasn’t needed one.
Alaska went down a different path. It is not a turboprop operator and it would make no sense. Instead, it promised to work closely with Mokulele to try to help it fix its operation and create more interline opportunity. If Mokulele was doing its job, this would be the right way to do it.
This brings back memories of a day trip to Molokai by ferry some 25 years ago. Was … interesting.
And in 2014 or so, I completed my “visit all major islands” quest by flying to L?na?i for a day of exploring L?na?i City, hanging out at the beach, and having a beer at Larry’s house (uh, Four Seasons pool bar). Turns out I was the only passenger on the Mokulele Caravan. Larry’s driver (uh, the free island shuttle for the Four Seasons hotel) picked me up at the airport and dropped me off in town and later took me to the resort and then back to the airport. Return flight to HNL was on Larry’s plane, uh, Island Air (RIP).
I thought I would chime is with some recent history of air transport to and from Molokai. Molokai is in interesting island. I left there 30 years ago, after living there for almost 7 years (for work). When I left, Hawaiian was phasing out their DH7s in preparation of handing Kapalua Airport over to the State. They had about 7 flights between HNL and MKK daily and about the same number between JHM and HNL, through MKK, so air transport was not an issue at all. In addition, Island Air was still flying their DH6s and Panorama Air was flying PA31s in daily service in addition to their island tours. The Molokai Princess was operating between Lahaina and Kaunakakai daily. Air Molokai had recently terminated their C402 service after losing their hangar space in HNL to Island Air.
Someone mentioned jets into MKK. The main runway is 4,494′ long, with rapidly rising terrain at the northeast end. Landing there several times in a DC9-50 gave me the impression that a carrier landing must be fairly similar. I don’t believe any modern air carrier ops specs will allow regular use of MKK by turbojet/turbofan aircraft.
Someone else mentioned extending the runway. If you look at MKK on Google Earth, you will see how much earthmoving would be required to extend the runway and also have the required 1000′ Runway Safety Areas on the ends of the runway. There is a 50′ dropoff on the southwest end of the runway, in addition to the rapidly-rising terrain at the northeast end. The State didn’t want to pay for cutting down some of the berms to the west of Taxiway Alfa to provide a better line of sight from the Tower. I don’t think they are going to go for extending the runway.
I believe MKK as an old Navy aerodrome and they built it where they could. I’m guessing the plantation owners didn’t want to “give” them a larger chunk of flatter land as they probably wanted to use it for agriculture.
It is really difficult to support air service into a destination with a small population that also does not have a decent amount of tourism as well. But maybe it’s “chicken-and-egg” as well. Maybe if there was better air service to MKK, more people would want to visit.
I personally feel that twin-turboprop service is the only way to go for MKK. I think if Hawaiian was operating DH8s instead of the four-engine DH7s, they might have been able to sustain service. The Caravans really don’t have enough payload and while PT6s have a great reputation for reliability, it still is a single point of failure and require the planes to fly convoluted routes to remain within gliding distance of land, as required by the FARs.
I have visited there several times since I left and still really miss the lifestyle there, but I am glad that I no longer live there considering the state of air capacity to and from the island.
Sad to hear Mokulele is having trouble. I’d take them at their word if they say they have maintenance issues. Remember the Makani Kai crash/water landing coming out of Kalaupapa on one of their Caravans?
Anyhow, I had a chance to visit Molokai back during the Ohana by Hawaiian days. It really is a 100% different vibe from all the other Hawaiian islands. Slow, laid back, not exactly a ton to do outside of some hikes. Not a great island for beaches, either. Sure, the biggest beach in all of Hawaii is there, and it’s a sight, but the waters are generally always too rough to swim and the winds tend to blow a lot of sand around. The other beaches are basically tiny slivers of sand on the shore, with shallow and rocky/coral bottoms. But very serene and beautiful, with lots of cool ancient Hawaiian “fish ponds”. Met a handful of locals who were all very friendly. Did not experience any stink-eye/ “get off my island” vibes. Hotel Molokai looks like a cool, chilled out spot to spend a couple/few nights to do some serious poolside unwinding…