The Marshall Islands will be without any domestic air service for at least two weeks from today because the national airline's only working aircraft is out commission.
Air Marshall Islands acting general manager, Bill Capelle, says one of the engines on its Dornier 228 has reached its hours limit and must be sent off-island for a maintenance overhaul.
The halt to domestic air service has forced the cancellation of a long-planned visit in early December to Bikini Atoll by reporters from an American travel magazine.
Mr Capelle says the engine issue went unnoticed until recently because of missing paperwork.
"The former director of maintenance and the former inspector are no longer with the airline and according to the inspector right now they misplaced the card that specified the time for overhaul and that's the time he found out about two weeks ago, he located this card and he informed us about it."
The Air Marshall Islands, acting general manager, Bill Capelle.
