Motu Link Airline in strife as sole ATR grounded

By Andrew Curran.

The sole aircraft belonging to French Polynesian cargo start-up Motu Link Airline has been grounded for almost a month after damaging its nose landing gear in late June. The CEO says the cost of replacing the nose gear, along with the foregone revenue while the aircraft remains out of service, is placing the airline under pressure.

“All Motu Link Airline flights are cancelled until further notice following a technical incident,” a notice on the airline's website states.

FlightRadar24 data shows the aircraft, an ATR72-500F registered F-OHEI (msn 0713), has not flown since June 25, 2026.

“During a routine ground manoeuvre last Friday (June 25), the front gear of our aircraft was damaged,” a July 1 post on Motu Link's Facebook page reads.

“In accordance with our procedures and safety requirements, the aircraft was immediately grounded to allow for a full inspection and identification of the most suitable technical solution.”

Two days later, Motu Link Airlines issued a further update.

“Despite the efforts of our technical teams and specialised partners over the past several days, the operations required to return our aircraft to service are taking longer than expected. Therefore, and in order to maintain our safety standards, all Motu Link Airline flights are cancelled until further notice.”

In subsequent updates, the airline described the grounded ATR as a significant challenge but said it was working to repair the aircraft and resume services as soon as possible. Motu Link Airlines said it remained committed to transparency throughout the process.

Out-of-service aircraft costing Motu Link Airline

The airline only commenced revenue services on May 29, becoming French Polynesia’s only cargo airline. The airline’s founders attracted considerable coverage by using crowdfunding to help pay for their first aircraft.

Motu Link CEO Alexandre Mu told French Polynesia's TNTV News that the incident occurred when the aircraft was being towed at Papeete (PPT) by its ground handling provider, Air Tahiti, after a tow bar malfunctioned.

The damage was severe enough that the nose landing gear must be replaced, at a reported cost of almost USD1 million, excluding installation and freight costs.

Leasing a replacement nose landing gear is an option, but Mu said sourcing one would be difficult and could cost up to USD40,000 per month. He added that the grounded ATR was costing the fledgling airline around USD144,000 every 10 days in lost revenue, with the matter now in the hands of insurers.

“We can't afford the luxury of stopping operations for six to eight months,” he said. “It's a shame that everything stopped after only a month, just when business was starting to take off. The islands were happy with what we were doing. We were offering things that had never been done before, and it was starting to work.”

Air Tahiti has acknowledged its role in the incident, saying its responsibilities are “clearly defined” in the ground handling agreement.

France's Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile (BEA), the country's civil aviation accident investigation authority, is responsible for investigating aviation accidents and incidents in French Polynesia.

Before the incident, Motu Link’s ATR72 was operating flights between Papeete and Tubuai (TUB), Rangiroa (RGI), Bora Bora (BOB), and Nuku Hiva (NHV).

Photo: Motu Link Airline.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com