Wanaham airport , Lifou island, New Caledonia Photo: Supplied
A recent spate of blockades in September and October has resurfaced this week in New Caledonia with Lifou Island's small airport being once again paralysed by a group of disgruntled users who are protesting against what they perceive as excessive cost of domestic plane tickets.
This comes despite negotiations and consultations that involved both domestic airline Air Calédonie, the angry consumers, the local government and even several local high chiefs.
At this time, this caused a massive cancellation of flights, affecting hundreds of passengers.
The crisis peaked when during the blockade, one Air Calédonie agency building at the small airport terminal of Lifou was severely damaged by a nightly fire on 4 October.
Public prosecutor Yves Dupas said at the time that several burnt tyres were found amidst the airline's building charred remains and that on that basis, investigations seem to point to a criminal motive.
Four individuals have since been arrested and have already appeared before a local criminal court.
One of them is facing aggravated arson charges and has been remanded in custody pending an expected verdict on 28 November.
Public prosecution has required sentences ranging from six months suspended jail to three years
While the earlier one-month blockades had targeted three domestic airports of Lifou, Maré (both in Loyalty Islands group) and the Isle of Pines (South of Nouméa), this time, it was only the airport of Lifou that was affected, local media report.
'Unjustifiable' - government
The fresh blockades, which have already caused significant loss and damage to Air Calédonie, and the cancellation of most of its flights to and from Lifou to the capital Nouméa on Tuesday, have been labelled "unjustifiable" by the local government.
In a release, it added that these new actions "will only contribute to increasing (Air Calédonie's) difficulties, as well as affecting the population in its travels and to disrupt Lifou's economic life".
Meetings had been held early November between government officials, Air Calédonie and leaders of the so-called "collective", the government said.
"Air Calédonie had already done its best to bring about necessary improvements in the luggage and freight policies, as well as practising more regular contacts between the company, its users and the government", the same source stated on Tuesday.
The blockaders are demanding that a flat 15,000 French Pacific Francs (CFP, around US$137.50) for residents of the Loyalty Islands be applied on these flights and that luggage and cabin allowance be raised to respectively 23 and 12 Kilograms just like for international long-haul flights.
The group of angry passengers said it intended to carry on with the same action on Wednesday.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we are determined", self-styled "coordinator of (Lifou) Island's consumers' movement" Gaspard Sawaza told local media.
Air Calédonie, which employs over three hundred staff, said the previous blockades had caused a loss of revenue to the tune of 1.5 million US dollars over the one-month period.
Chief executive Mathias Waneux said the domestic airline's short-term operation ability and viability were now at risk and that should the airline face another wave of blockades, it would not be able to survive financially and would probably have to shut down operations.
Waneux said the company was now intending to apply with a local trade tribunal for a special authorisation to reschedule the payment of its already substantial debts.
