UPDATE (October 25, 2024): Ryukyu Air Commuter canceled all flights on October 24, 2024, as well. The airline is, however, set to partially resume operations today. “We have confirmed safety through discussions with the manufacturer. As such, we will gradually resume operations from the 25th,” said the airline’s updated statement.
JAL Group’s Okinawa-based regional airline, Ryukyu Air Commuter, discovered a fault on one of its Bombardier Dash 8 Q400CC aircraft during a routine inspection on the night of October 22, 2024. Subsequent inspections revealed similar faults in other aircraft, prompting the airline to ground its entire single-type fleet.
As a result of that, Ryukyu Air Commuter canceled all of its flights yesterday, October 23, 2024, as well as selected flights today. Additionally, it also issued a cancelation/change fee waiver for all of today’s remaining flights and all flights tomorrow due to the possibility of them being canceled if the situation is not fully resolved by then.
“We are still investigating the cause of the problem, and will keep you updated with any new information as it becomes available. With safety as our number one priority, we will do our utmost to ensure that operations are returned to normal,” said the airline’s statement. It did not specify the type of fault or the number of aircraft it was discovered on.
Ryukyu Air Commuter operates a fleet of five Q400CCs, of which it was the launch customer, on flights around Okinawa.
