Fiji Government directs budget relief to Fiji Airways

By Andrew Curran.

Fiji’s Minister for Finance will support majority state-owned carrier Fiji Airways with a FJD200 million (USD88.3 million) government guarantee and extend the airline’s tax loss carry-forward provisions. The support was among several measures announced by Minister Esrom Yosef Immanuel when he handed down Fiji’s 2026–2027 National Budget on June 26, 2026.

The minister said the government needed to back Fiji Airways, which is still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and has more recently come under additional financial pressure from higher fuel prices.

“We need to support Fiji Airways, our national airline, which brings most of our tourists and plays a critical role in positioning Fiji as the aviation hub of the South Pacific,” he said.

Given that role, the minister said legislation to provide the planned government guarantee would be brought before Parliament shortly.

“In this budget, we are extending the loss carry-forward provision for the airline from the standard eight years to 15 years,” the minister said. “This measure will provide greater flexibility for the airline to utilise accumulated losses for tax purposes and support long-term investment and recovery.”

“Fiji Airways was also given a moratorium on the revised outbound fees from April to June 2026, which has now been extended to July 2027,” he added. “This measure is expected to provide relief of approximately FJD10 million (USD4.4 million) annually.”

Fiji Airways appreciates the support

Fiji Airways has not yet released its financial results for 2025 and is not expected to do so until later this year. The airline achieved an operating profit in 2024 but ultimately reported a net loss of FJD25 million (USD11 million) due to unrealised foreign exchange translation losses.

Over the weekend, Fiji Airways CEO Paul Scurrah told local media that the airline appreciated the government’s support.

“Fiji Airways is grateful for the support announced by the Fiji Government in the 2026 - 2027 National Budget and acknowledges the continued partnership between Government and the national airline in supporting Fiji’s economic growth and global connectivity,” he said.

The Government of Fiji holds a 51% stake in Fiji Airways, while state-owned entities, including the Fiji National Provident Fund and Unit Trust of Fiji, hold a combined 31.87%. Australian airline Qantas owns 16%, while Air New Zealand and the governments of Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa and Nauru share the remaining equity.

“While the global aviation industry continues to navigate elevated fuel prices, supply chain pressures and rising operating costs, this support positions Fiji Airways strongly to continue growing and maintaining maximum seat capacity into Fiji at a time when many international airlines are scaling back services and reducing capacity,” Scurrah said.

“Fiji Airways and Tourism Fiji are continuing to see strong global interest and booking demand, driven by Fiji’s reputation as a safe, family-friendly destination.

“This support allows us to build on that momentum with confidence, further strengthen our network and continue driving tourism growth for Fiji now and into the future,” the CEO added.

Esrom Yosef Immanuel also said the Fijian Government was working with other stakeholders, including Fiji Airports, Air Terminal Services, the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji, the Fiji National Provident Fund and the Fiji Development Bank, to help ease the financial pressure on the airline.

You can read the budget documents here.

Photo: AI-Generated.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com