New Zealand's foreign minister said a government plane would depart for New Caledonia in the "next hour" to pick up tourists stranded for a week in the crisis-hit French territory.
Winston Peters said the first plane would bring "50 passengers with the most pressing needs" back to Auckland and would be the "first in a series of proposed flights to begin bringing New Zealanders home".
More than 3,000 people are estimated to have been stranded by a week of unrest that has shuttered the Pacific archipelago's main international airport.
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Australia and New Zealand say they have received clearance to send planes to New Caledonia to pick up travellers stranded after unrest shut down the international airport.
ReplyDeleteAustralia is deploying two planes on Tuesday to evacuate some of the 300 of its citizens who have registered for assistance in the French Pacific territory.
The first of "a series" of proposed flights will also leave New Zealand and bring about 50 people home, the government in Wellington said.