A further step has been taken in New Caledonia towards creating a new regional airline based in the Loyalty Islands.
Photo: lenor/123RF
Air Oceania has been formally set up and a company president, Jean-Luc Datim, has been appointed.
Last month, the provincial assembly unanimously voted to instruct the development agency to embark on the plan to launch a low-cost airline to boost tourism.
This coincides with work started on Lifou this month to expand the island's airport.
The province's president Jacques Lalie has been in touch with the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which recently demonstrated its A220 plane at Noumea's international airport.
A business plan is being worked on amid aspirations to fly to Vanuatu, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and French Polynesia.