Tonga's Minister of Public Enterprises Piveni Piukala says the government wants to position Lulutai Airlines (L8, Tongatapu) for sale, but doing so will require it to repay loans.

Piukala told the Kaniva Tonga digital newspaper that if state-owned Lulutai Airlines continued on its current course, outstanding loans, specifically TOP6 million pa'anga (USD2.5 million) lent to it by the State Retirement Fund, would never be repaid.

The Tongan government has also invested TOP15 million (USD6.3 million) in the airline, which has consistently lost money since starting operations in late 2020. Lulutai Airlines has also consistently experienced reliability issues with its aircraft. Piukala says that unless Lulutai can remedy the operational and financial aspects of the business, the money lent and invested would be lost.

However, he also said that if the airline was turned around, it could be sold. However, he did not say who might acquire it.

Lulutai Airlines is Tonga's only scheduled passenger airline. It serves Eua, Ha'apai, and Vava'u from Tongatapu. Lulutai's fleet includes a single active DHC-6-300, one inoperable Saab 340B(Plus), and one inoperable Y12. The airline is currently damp-leasing a Saab 340B from Air Chathams to help plug the capacity gap.