A US Airways Maui flight was diverted Monday after crewmembers noticed an issue with one of the plane’s pressurization and air conditioning kits, the Associated Press reports.

US Airways Flight 31 from Maui to Phoenix, Arizona was diverted to Honolulu Monday night because of this maintenance issue. It left Maui at 10:25 PM, Monday, and landed without incident in Honolulu at 2:01 AM Tuesday.

A spokesman for the US Airways Group, Todd Lehmacher, said the redeye flight was less than halfway its trip when the crew decided to be cautious and turned the plane around. They were able to land in Honolulu early Tuesday without incident. All of the passengers and crew were safe; nobody was hurt.

Lehmacher said that the Boeing 757 had two kits and one of them was malfunctioning.

Half the plane’s 166 passengers left Tuesday night, bound for Phoenix, while the other half were rebooked on other airlines.

Officials have not further elaborated on what the exact problem of the airplane was. Nonetheless, when the plane landed back to Hawaii, it was able to taxi to the gate with its own power, according to Hawaii News Now. As of Wednesday, the plane is being expected and is awaiting repairs.

The crew’s cautionary decision to bring the plane to ground to these concerns is a safety measure and is a well-received measure. It has effectively ensured the safety of the passengers as well as the well being of the crew.

Statistic obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2011 showed US Airways had zero fatal accidents in one year and a total of four (4) accidents per 1,000,000 take offs. Although not generally known for great customer service and handling of passengers’ concerns, the company has tried its best to keep a safety record at par with its top competitors.

US Airways is expected to merge with American Airlines by fall of this year. The potentially new partners are expected to face some very rough patches as they tackle the need to merge booking systems; frequent-flier programs and helping pilots familiarize themselves with new aircraft. And while doing so, they will need to convince their millions of passengers to stay with them and be confident of the services they offer as one of the nation’s major carriers.

The decision of the crew to put its passenger back to safety was a job well done, as it ensures that the parent company who manages the Maui flight has one less PR issue to deal with while going through this merger.