Calls to Examine Government Plans to Close Magenta Airport

By Andrew Curran.

Local community groups continue to oppose New Caledonian Government plans to close Magenta Airport, according to the Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes digital newspaper.

Among other advantages, the government says the move will save the struggling state-owned domestic airline, Air Calédonie, around CFP500 million (USD4.8 million) annually.

“This relocation represents a major strategic step for the New Caledonian aviation sector,” a government website reads. “Its primary aim is to physically unite Air Calédonie and Aircalin (the state-owned international airline) within a single space, thereby promoting optimised coordination and resource sharing.”

“This major project for the whole of New Caledonia is also crucial for the economic survival of Air Calédonie, whose long-term viability is threatened by the operational constraints of the Magenta airport,” the website continues. “Consolidating operations at a more suitable site will help improve the airline's operational efficiency and ensure its long-term sustainability.”

Magenta Airport closure date still undecided

The government hasn’t decided exactly when Magenta Airport will cease operations. It says a decision will happen when it concludes its community consultation process.

As previously reported in Aero South Pacific, New Caledonian Government plans to close Magenta Airport have attracted local opposition, including street marches.

Pro-Magenta groups argue that Magenta is far more convenient to Nouméa than the more distant La Tontouta Airport.

Magenta Airport is primarily served by Air Calédonie and Air Oceania (formerly Air Loyauté). Much of the opposition to Magenta’s planned closure comes from nationalist and pro-independence groups that are active around New Caledonia’s outer islands and who use New Caledonia's inter-island domestic flights.

UC-FLNKS says a commission of inquiry is needed to examine the plan to close Magenta Airport, as well as take a look at Air Calédonie. UC-FLNKS President Pierre-Chanel Tutugoro says there is inadequate “information to accurately assess the operational constraints related to the Magenta platform, nor the economic and social consequences for Air Calédonie and its users of transferring operations to La Tontouta.”

He says the government hasn’t fully explained why it needs to close Magenta Airport and for Air Calédonie to shift to La Tontouta. Tutugoro argues that Air Calédonie already receives over 20% of its annual revenues via state aid, that the airline continues to lose money, and that the government doesn’t say how moving to La Tontouta will change this.

Government says Magenta closure will result in savings

For its part, the New Caledonian government says the move will result in infrastructure optimisation, including the pooling of equipment with Aircalin, and a reduction of maintenance and operating costs, leading to better profitability. Already the government has paused previously planned infrastructure work at Magenta Airport budgeted at CFP1 billion (USD9.6 million).

Tutugoro is unconvinced. “Given the strategic importance of the company (Air Calédonie), the scale of public funds already mobilised and the impact of its activity on the continuity of local air transport service, it appears essential that the elected members of Congress have a clear, complete and objective view of the situation," he said.

Photo: Nashman98800 via Wikimedia Commons.