Air Mauritius will not resume operations to London Heathrow before April 2027 due to binding slot lease agreements.
The airline’s three historical slot pairs at Heathrow are leased to Qatar Airways generating annual revenues of USD881000. The flag carrier moved to London Gatwick in late October 2023 leading to losses of MUR920m on the route from October 2023 to March 2024. Losses for the 2024/25 financial year are projected at MUR1.7bn with cumulative deficit nearing MUR2.6bn by March 2025. Frequency on Gatwick reduced from daily to five times weekly from May 2025.
Air Mauritius shared in a written statement “Despite the new government’s directive to explore an immediate return to Heathrow contractual obligations prevent this from happening at least until the lease expires next year.”
