Mokulele Airlines on Maui. PC: Mokulele Airlines

The Department of Transportation today announced it would restore federal funding to maintain air service to and from Hāna, Maui.

The four-year $650,000 federal subsidy to Mokulele Airlines will help the carrier maintain regular air service to and from the Hāna community. Mokulele will provide Hāna with 14 nonstop round trips a week to Kahului.

“I thank the Department of Transportation for hearing us out and restoring federal funding for air service to and from Hāna,” said Senator Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who has been calling for continued funding. “As an island state, air travel is critical to our economy and our daily lives.”

The Essential Air Service program ensures access to air transportation for small and rural communities that would otherwise not be served.

Sen. Schatz notes that late last year, DOT took actions that he says threatened to end subsidized service at Hāna.

Following calls, Sen. Schatz said the DOT restored the federal subsidy to Mokulele, offering the local carrier a four-year EAS contract to continue critical air service to Hana.