Start Date Not Set Says French Polynesia’s Motu Link Airline

By Andrew Curran.

French Polynesia’s Motu Link Airline has hosed down a presidential report that it will begin flight operations on December 12, 2025.

The cited date “corresponds to a predicted date, but it is not yet final,” the start-up cargo airline posted on its social media accounts late last week.

This followed the French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson publishing details of a meeting between himself and Motu Link officials earlier in the week.

“This meeting provided an opportunity to present to the president the strategic forecast plan for the new airline, as well as the preparatory steps for its planned start of operations,” reads a November 6, 2025, press release from the president’s office.

The same press release, which can be viewed here, also flagged the December start date.

Founded by Alexandre Mu, Leila Kocik, and Pascal Mou, Motu Link Airline plans to build a fleet of three propellor ATR aircraft by 2027 to fly perishable and time-sensitive freight around French Polynesia.

Presently, most inter-island cargo is carried by sea-going vessels. Urgent and perishable freight goes into the cargo holds of domestic passenger airlines such as Air Tahiti and Air Moana as there is no dedicated cargo airline based in French Polynesia.

Motu Link Airline wants to fill that void.

Motu Link's first aircraft remains in France

Motu Link has attracted attention because it successfully raised around USD3.6 million through crowd funding to start the aircraft acquisition process. A second crowd funding campaign raised another USD1.3 million, with around 72% of that money coming from the pockets of local investors.

In June, Motu Link told trade publication Cargo Facts that it had secured a 21-year-old ATR72-500F with the manufacturer serial number 713. Motu Link said it was awaiting EASA certification to operate the aircraft. That detail fleshed out an April press release from Motu Link saying it had acquired an unspecified 72-500F from ATR.

That aircraft, with has primarily flown in a passenger configuration for Spain’s Binter Airlines, was retired from that carrier in late 2021 and converted into a freighter the following year.

There were reports at the time that failed Nigerian start-up GIG Aviation had acquired the aircraft for its fledgling operation. However, the plane, then registered as F-WKVC, went into storage at Toulouse’s Francazal Airport in early 2023, where it has remained ever since.

Motu Link awaiting an AOC

Concurrently, Motu Link has secured some licences and certificates. However, it still lacks the all-import air operator’s certificate (AOC). As with many jurisdictions, French Polynesia requires an operator to have possession of an aircraft and demonstrate it has the appropriate processes and procedures in place to safely operate that aircraft, before any AOC is issued.

Regardless, Brotherson says he looks forward to the start-up of Motu Link Airline. He says it aligns with the government’s strategy to improve connectivity around the islands and secure French Polynesia’s supply chains. In last week's press release, the president said his government will continue to support projects that contribute to the economic development of the islands and the sustainable growth of domestic air transport.

While walking back the president’s release of a start date, Motu Link Airline thanked him for his time and interest.

Photo: Motu Link Airline.