● Why has Air Mauritius and Air France decided to reduce their flights between France and Mauritius?

From 17 flights a week, the airlines have agreed on gradually reducing the number of flights to achieve 11 ? 7 for Air Mauritius and 4 for Air France. The airlines are suffering a lot from the arrival of other airlines on the same route such as Corsair as well as from the chikungunya crisis that hit mainly France.

● Do these problems affect this route only?

Air Mauritius is actually going through hard times at the moment with Rs 620 million losses during the first semester of the financial year 2006-2007. Corsair is not the only competitor of Air Mauritius and the local airline has to face the consequences of the change in the air access policy. The price of oil, the lack of hotel rooms and the purchase of new aircraft are also reasons for the present bad financial situation of the local company.

● What are the potential risks for Air Mauritius?

In the short-term, the company will not be in a position to pay dividends to its shareholders this semester. In the long run ? and if appropriate decisions are not made ? the company may well have to close down and stop its activities in about three years.