- Air Mauritius committed to at least five weekly London Gatwick flights year round
- The airline added more than 3,600 seats on the Paris route
- Six supplementary non-stop flights were introduced with Air France
- UK visitor numbers fell in the first half of 2026 but rose 5.2pc in August
- The carrier targets daily Gatwick service by 2028
Air Mauritius has pledged to increase its London Gatwick service to at least five flights a week year round with the possibility of returning to a daily frequency by 2028. The commitment follows discussions with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority. UK visitor numbers to the island fell in the first half of 2026 amid limited air capacity and the Middle East conflict although August showed a 5.2pc year on year rise driven by last minute bookings.
The national carrier expanded its operations between Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle. The airline injected more than 3,600 extra seats onto the route and introduced six supplementary non-stop flights operated in a codeshare partnership with Air France in addition to daily scheduled services. Air Mauritius actively pushed to regain momentum in England market which tourism officials noted had been underperforming due to a shortage of air capacity. The airline committed to expanding its frequency back to five flights a week with active discussions to increase the schedule further to six or seven weekly flights.
The ultimate target for the carrier is to establish a daily non-stop service to London Gatwick to capitalise on England being its second-largest international tourism source market. Mauritius overall international arrivals were up 2pc on the previous year.
