Royal Tongan Airlines has stopped selling its international flights today.

Reservations staff said the last flight will be tomorrow Saturday, at 3.40 p.m. from Tongatapu to Auckland, and they understood the B757 aircraft would then return to Brunei, where it was dry leased from Royal Brunei Airlines.

Management has not announced the reason for the stoppage but it is widely understood to be the result of a funding crisis by the government-owned airline.

"“The bad news is that it's being taken back because we can't afford it," reservations is telling customers.

Royal Tongan Airlines mounted its own international services at the end of November 2002, and was currently flying between Auckland and Tonga three times a week, with an onward flight to Sydney once a week. It had gained its own Air Operator Certificate last year in a bid to gain access to the United States market through Honolulu.

No announcement of the international stoppage has been made by management, and reservations staff have, as yet, been given no instructions for handling passengers who are booked for international flights next week.

The domestic service is still running with one Shorts 206, but the RTA Twin Otter is out of action waiting for repairs.