As the maiden flight of the second French carrier touched down, last Thursday, the atmosphere at the airport was different – excitement was in the air and the fact that the Corsairfly flight was almost full just added to the satisfaction of those concerned. This arrival marks the start of a new era in the aviation sector with an opening to new airlines. The government indeed doesn’t intend to stop there.

The prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, expressed his conviction that “the air access policy, which is slowly becoming more supple, will certainly help (the tourism sector) with the arrival of a number of new airlines” at a press conference a few weeks ago. Moreover, he announced he had met Richard Branson, director of Virgin Airlines, concerning the possibility that this airline could serve Mauritius “but we must have more discussions on the terms of the contract first”.

The review of the air access policy is expected to boost tourist arrivals. Both the government and the private sector are pinning their hopes on the arrival of airlines such as Corsair to increase tourist revenue. As for Corsair, the government may have more specific expectations – boosting the number of French tourists after the impact of the chikungunya crisis on this specific market. The French – our biggest market – were inclined to shun Mauritius after the chikungunya outbreak. Not only had some of their fellow-citizens caught the disease but they were also inclined to confuse the situation in Mauritius with Reunion (where the disease reached alarming proportions last season).

However, the authorities now want to look at the future. With a capacity of 900 passengers every week, the new airline targets mainly tourists. According to the chairman of the Nouvelles Frontières group – to which Corsair belongs – “our top priority is to target tourists exclusively. National companies usually have a different market.”

With the arrival of the new airline, Air Mauritius may be quite anxious, the more so as the local airline is already facing financial and administrative problems. The minister of Tourism and Leisure, Xavier-Luc Duval, mentioned this at the ceremony marking the arrival of Corsair, “Concrete measures must be taken.” Competition is now open and every company should make sure it has the means to fight.