A plane full of Australian tourists who had been trapped in New Caledonia by a week of rioting and looting touched down in Brisbane late Tuesday.
The Royal Australian Air Force C130 Hercules was the first evacuation flight to leave the French Pacific territory since unrest began on May 13.
The main international airport in Noumea remains closed to commercial aircraft, stranding thousands of tourists who flocked to the South Pacific isle looking for a slice of paradise.
The visitors instead found themselves barricaded inside hotels with dwindling supplies as French forces tried to quell protests, riots and looting fuelled by opposition to French rule.
For days, the Australian and New Zealand militaries have been on standby waiting for French authorities to give the all-clear for relief flights to begin.
French troops said they had cleared dozens of make-shift separatist road blocks from the airport to the city, but there are reports of unrest in some villages along the way.
Finally on Tuesday two Australian military planes and one from New Zealand dashed Coral and Tasman Seas to collect passengers from Noumea’s more accessible domestic Magenta Airport.
AFP reporters earlier witnessed a long line of passengers waiting on the airport tarmac, before loading themselves, their bags and brightly coloured suitcases onto the military transporter.
Australian authorities say about 300 citizens have registered for possible evacuation. It was not immediately clear how many would be on Tuesday’s flights.
The New Zealand Defence Force plane was expected to carry about “50 passengers with the most pressing needs”, according to Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
“In cooperation with France and Australia, we are working on subsequent flights in coming days,” he said.
