Limited domestic flights resume at Nouméa’s Magenta Airport

By Andrew Curran.

Limited domestic flights have resumed at Nouméa’s Magenta Airport months after a government decision to shut the airport resulted in ongoing blockades at airports around New Caledonia’s outer islands and tipped Air Calédonie into administration.

As reported by Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes, Air Oceania resumed twice-daily flights between Magenta (GEA) and Lifou (LIF) on May 19, 2026.

It is the first scheduled service to resume to the Loyalty Islands airport since protesters began blockading it in early March.

The flights, operated by a nine-passenger Tecnam P2012 aircraft, will run on weekdays and carry a mix of passengers and cargo. CEO Michel Druet says Air Oceania also hopes to resume flights to Tiga (TGJ).

Druet says the Lifou flights have been in demand as businesses try to move goods and staff between the New Caledonian mainland and the outer islands.

Magenta Airport open despite government saying it would close

The resumption of flights at Magenta is occurring despite New Caledonia’s president, Alcide Ponga, previously saying the government intended to close the airport.

On March 2, Air Calédonie shifted its Nouméa operations to La Tontouta Airport (NOU), on the other side of the capital, following government instructions. At the same time, protesters at three Loyalty Islands airports and Île des Pins (ILP) began blockading those airports in protest.

The blockade at Île des Pins has since ended, but those at the Loyalty Islands airports of Lifou, Maré (MEE), and Ouvéa (UVE) remain ongoing — although it appears some sort of agreement has been reached to allow the Air Oceania flights in and out of Lifou.

When the protesters first established the blockades, Air Oceania was not operating into any of the affected airports because its Tecnam aircraft was out of service. However, Air Calédonie was operating there, and the blockades effectively shut down the already struggling carrier.

Two and a half months after the blockades began, Air Calédonie is only operating two routes: Nouméa La Tontouta to Port Vila (VLI), and Nouméa La Tontouta to Île des Pins.

In mid-April, Nouméa’s Commercial Court placed Air Calédonie into receivership. The airline’s management reported that the blockades were costing the company almost USD100,000 per day.

There are no reports of Air Calédonie planning to resume flights from Magenta.

Air Calédonie’s woes present an opportunity for Air Oceania

Druet says Air Calédonie’s challenges and the absence of flights to the Loyalty Islands airports present an opportunity for his airline. However, he says there are no plans to challenge Air Calédonie’s usual domestic dominance.

“We are in a different niche,” he said. “We don’t deal with 70-seat ATR aircraft. We focus more on local transport, medical transport, business travel, or light freight.”

Druet also indicated that Air Oceania has no plans to move operations away from Magenta, suggesting government plans to close the airport may have been paused.

Photo: Air Oceania.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com