Virgin Atlantic prefers Mauritius to Seychelles

Virgin Atlantic, the airline owned by billionaire Richard Branson, will start operating two weekly flights between London and Mauritius route, starting next month. There will be an inaugural flight on October 28, which will touch down at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport with Branson on board. The flights which will depart London twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays will mean an additional 240 seats each time.

The Government in Seychelles tried unsuccessfully to woo Virgin Atlantic to Seychelles in the past, especially after Richard Branson spent a holiday in Seychelles in the company of Tony Blair, then Britain’s Prime Minister. That was in 2004, soon after Mr Joe Belmont became vice-president and took over the tourism portfolio. Belmont  led a delegation of Seychellois government officials to London, which also included Transport Principal Secretary Gerard Lafortune, to lobby Virgin officials.

Upon the delegation’s return to Seychelles, Lafortune said on SBC that they were told that though Seychelles was an interesting destination, Virgin was only interested in the Atlantic and Caribbean routes, not the Indian Ocean.  The low passenger load and the withdrawal of British Airways were also given as reasons why Virgin was not interested in Seychelles at the time.

Today, however, Seychelles is getting a record number of tourists from Europe yet Virgin preferred to start flying to Mauritius instead. British Airways which pulled out of Seychelles because of the difficulty in repatriating their rupee earnings due to the non-convertibility of the currency continues to fly to Mauritius. This turn of event is proof, if proof is needed, that the Government must take steps to restore the full convertibility of the rupee as a matter of urgency.