Residents of the Labrador coastal community of Rigolet staged two protests over the Thanksgiving weekend to draw attention to the lack of freight service.

Deliveries have been slow to arrive since the MV Northern Ranger broke down last month.

About 30 people delayed the departure of the freighter MV Astron on Saturday night.

On Monday, residents circled a passenger plane on the community's runway until police intervened. Among other things, the residents complained that they are being forced to accept a level of service in northern Labrador that would not be tolerated in Newfoundland.

"We stayed there until the RCMP asked us to leave," said Elsie Wolfrey, one of the organizers of the demonstrations.

"That was actually when another plane was landing in Rigolet and for safety reasons they said, 'We gotta get you off right now.'"

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has replaced the Northern Ranger service with a Twin Otter plane for passengers.

The plane, however, is too small to carry freight. While the Astron has been carrying freight, many residents are unhappy with the level of service.

"We're afraid we're not going to get all of our supplies and that our stores won't be stocked," Wolfrey said.

"We're going to be paying high rates for food, because if it comes on plane, it costs more."