‘Airlines Not Exploiting Bilateral ASA’

In his reply the PM said that requests have come from the following countries for air services talks, which include United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Ethiopia and are under consideration.

 “On the other hand Mauritius has requested air services talks with the Scandinavian countries (Finland, Sweden and Norway), the Czech Republic and Turkey,” he added.

Ramgoolam highlighted that the island has opened up air access substantially since 2005 but carriers are not fully exploiting the opportunities available in the Bilateral Air Services Agreements, and a lot of the capacity/frequency entitlements remain largely unutilised.

 “I have been informed that a substantial part of the traffic rights have remained unused because airlines operations are guided by business and economic factors,” he stated.

To another question on whether Mauritius is considering becoming a hub between China and Africa, the PM replied this is not as easy as it seems since there are a lot of regulations to be taken into account.

He added that negotiations are over with the Kenyan authorities and this air route will be operational very soon.

To a supplementary question by Opposition MP Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing on how the national air carrier will cope with the competition, Ramgoolam stated: “Air Mauritius will simply have to raise its standards.”

Mauritius has signed Bilateral Air Services Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding with 36 countries till now. These agreements provide for designation of airlines, route schedule, frequencies of flights to be operated on the agreed routes, capacity entitlements, as well as traffic rights.