There has been a call by airlines in French overseas territories for government support to cope with problems caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Noumea's domestic airport at Magenta Photo: RNZ Walter Zweifel
The airlines, including Air Tahiti Nui, Air Tahiti and Air Caledonie, issued a statement, jointly seeking just over one billion US dollars in state support.
This followed a French government decision to extend its support to Air France with various types of loans of more than seven billion US dollars.
The funds would allow Air France to restructure its network and honour orders for new aircraft.
The statement questioned why the smaller airlines were being excluded, given that they faced the same challenges.
Air France suspended flights between Paris and Papeete until at least the end of May.
Air Tahiti Nui and Air Tahiti suspended all services while Air Caledonie is set to restart flights on Monday after deferring its resumption of flights last week.
