The financial crash of Volare, the group that owns Air Europe, has put the issue of open sky policy in the limelight again. Although Air Mauritius and the government were not very eager to fully open the sky, they were thinking of a gradual and controlled opening. However, the difficulties of the Italian low-cost airline company could have had a negative impact on Mauritian tourism. “If we let any operator serve Mauritius, the scenario of Air Europe could well repeat itself. If we count on low-cost flights to bring tourists to Mauritius, it may make tourism more vulnerable and jeopardise the sector in the future,” says Megh Pillay, the general manager of Air Mauritius.

The national airline has its say in this case, as it has been the one to rush to get the issue out of a tight corner. More than 250 Italians would have been stranded if Air Mauritius had not taken the initiative of flying them home on the same conditions. Moreover, 300 more Italians now rely on Air Mauritius to take them to Mauritius since they had already booked their tickets.

Of course, this will be beneficial for the national airline. First, it may help to boost its image with Italian tourists. Then, such an initiative should help tourism in general. The Italian market is one of the most important in Europe and it’s in Mauritius’ interest to pay attention to it. The more so as “high-class Italians” – supposed to be the target of Mauritian tourism – have a “popular and cheap” image of Mauritius.

<B>Destination sold for next to nothing</B>

Air Mauritius and Air Europe have never got on very well. They had an agreement, which broke up in 2001 because they had totally different strategies and targets. The government was dissatisfied because Air Europe sold the destination for next to nothing, which didn’t correspond to the image Mauritius wanted to convey.

However, this unfortunate experience may help the national airline in its lobbying to avoid a total opening of the Mauritian skies. It has always said there was no room for “fly by night operators.” The government has so far been in favour of a controlled opening of the sky while hotel managers have advocated full air access.

Air Mauritius insists that other airlines wouldn’t take the country’s economic interest into consideration but rather – and only – their own. “Foreign companies are here because this is a profitable destination. If this is not the case in the future, they’ll leave. On what will Mauritian tourism rely if the national company is not there anymore?”

Of course, Air Europe’s experience should be used as the example-not-to-follow in future. However, this shouldn’t be an excuse to stop the move towards a controlled air access. Hotels continue to be built and the government must find a way to bring in more tourists to fill the rooms and boost the economy.