Motu Link ATR still out of service amid insurance uncertainty

By Andrew Curran.

The only aircraft operated by French Polynesian cargo start-up Motu Link Airline remains grounded more than four months after it was damaged at Papeete and around two months after a proposed mid-September return-to-service date was announced.

The ATR72-500 freighter, F-OHEI (msn 0713), has been idle at Papeete Airport (PPT) since it was involved in an incident involving an Air Tahiti ground crew-operated towing vehicle on June 25, 2026. The airline had only commenced revenue services on May 29.

Although nobody was injured in the incident, it caused sufficient damage to necessitate the replacement of the ATR’s nose landing gear and other repairs. In late August, Aero South Pacific reported comments by Motu Link Airline President Alexandre Mu to French Polynesia’s Conseil Économique, Social, Environnemental et Culturel (CESEC) panel, where he said he hoped to have the aircraft back in the air by mid-September.

However, he also said discussions over who was ultimately responsible for the damage, most recently estimated to have cost almost USD1.7 million, were ongoing.

Mid-September restart date comes and goes without restart

Papeete-based Radio One reported this week that Motu Link now hopes to have the aircraft back in service by the end of the year but says it has encountered problems with insurers and sourcing replacement parts.

“We honestly didn't expect the ATR to take so long to get back into service,” Motu Link Airline Communications and Marketing Manager Judith Rodriguez said. “We thought we could resume much sooner. We were confronted with this harsh reality of the airline industry and our geographical location, because there are significant additional transit delays.”

Rodriguez says insurance will ultimately cover the cost once “responsibilities” have been determined, but until then, Motu Link must pay out of its own pocket.

“We have very invested shareholders who have supported us since well before the incident, and who have continued to support us afterwards,” Rodriguez said.

Following the incident, insurers representing both Motu Link and Air Tahiti travelled to French Polynesia to assess the damage and approve the airline’s efforts to source replacement nose landing gear. According to Rodriguez, this included some custom-made parts.

The requirement for all replacement parts to comply with EU standards, combined with the logistical challenges of French Polynesia’s geographical remoteness, has added to the delays.

“It's a lot of things that, put together, take time and cause us to lose time,” Rodriguez said.

Motu Link eyes end-of-year return to service for ATR

Speaking to the CESEC panel over two months ago, Mu suggested that the parts, installation, checks and certification could be completed within “a couple of weeks”. Now, however, beyond the tentative end-of-year timeframe, no specific return-to-service date has been announced.

Rodriguez says some parts are still awaiting delivery. They will then need to be installed on the ATR, followed by inspections and testing. The aircraft, which has now been grounded for more than four months, also has other scheduled maintenance due, further complicating its return to service.

The Radio One report adds that responsibility for the costs remains unresolved and that the matter could ultimately end up in court.

Photo: Motu Link Airline
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com