A midcoast air service that delivers USPS mail to Maine island communities has planned to pause deliveries due to a lack of payment.
According to a post on Penobscot Island Air’s Facebook page, the service has had payment issues with the United States Post Office going back as far as 2023. It has not been paid for a single delivery made in 2026, the post claims.
As of March 13, Penobscot Island Air has not received any payment of the roughly $388,000 owed to it by the postal service.
Penobscot Island Air, which is based out of Owls Head and flies out of Knox County Regional Airport, is an important lifeline for the island communities off the midcoast. It offers year-round flights for passengers, freight, mail and medical supplies. It also provides some charters and sightseeing flights.
“While our mission is to support the islands, PIA employees need a paycheck. We can’t operate as a business if almost a fifth of our yearly revenue is tied up in the bureaucracy of the United States government,” Penobscot Island Air said in a statement.
“We have to make a small stand, so we won’t be delivering USPS mail today.”
The amount owed to Penobscot Island Air constitutes roughly one-fifth of its yearly revenue.
“It’s been 75 days this year alone that we have dutifully loaded up USPS mail and ferried or flown it out to the islands. It’s no secret that winter is our slow period, and without prompt payments, cash flow is bleak.”
The flight service said it has tried to resolve the situation through multiple discussions with the USPS financial department, as well as the postal service in Rockland, “begging anyone to fill out the proper paperwork.”
“We notified the USPS, the island postmasters, and the town administrators last night. The latter two groups have been exceedingly gracious in offering help to escalate our cause. We hope we can resolve this situation quickly, as we value our partnership with the USPS and the islands,” the service wrote.
It is not the first report of midcoast communities being impacted by erratic mail deliveries. One Palermo resident said that “basic delivery is breaking down” as the U.S. Postal Service struggles with staffing issues and changes intended to address its financial woes.
The USPS is self-funded, which means it doesn’t get money from taxpayers, and instead relies on customers — the number of which has plummeted as communication has moved online. The volume of first class mail fell by 50% between 2008 and 2023, according to the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General. The last time the postal service recorded a profit was in 2006.
And the future doesn’t look good: Last month, the U.S. postmaster general warned that the USPS is running out of money and could be forced to stop deliveries by early 2027 if nothing changes.
Penobscot Island Air did note that it would work to ensure that the delivery of critical items, such as medications, are not significantly delayed by the payment dispute. The UPS and FedEx packages will be delivered as normal on Tuesday, although future deliveries are not guaranteed.
Affected mail recipients are encouraged to contact the Rockland Post Office at 207-596-6461 to discuss the impacts of the service pause.
