Direct Mauritius-Shanghai airline launched

The Mauritius national carrier Air Mauritius plans to launch direct flights from Plaisance airport in Mauritius island to Shanghai by March this year, a well placed source said on Wednesday.

Air Mauritius reported that about 10,000 passengers travelled between Mauritius and China in 2011 against a figure of 7,609 passengers in 2010 and 6,925 passengers in 2009.

The source also said that the Mauritius national carrier plans to add a second plane on this new route in the month of October.

The objective of Air Mauritius is to transport more than 14,000 passengers.

The Mauritius-Shanghai route is the 4th destination of Air Mauritius to the East Asia after Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong destinations.

The company will maintain its three weekly flights to Hong Kong and two weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur/Singapore. This will offer the Chinese market six weekly options to the Mauritius island.

"We are delighted to proceed with our plans for China as it had earlier been announced last year. For the last two years, we have benefited from the growth that was witnessed in the emerging economies in Asia due to the strategic actions taken by the Mauritius government. Our direct flights opened a new economic front for the Mauritius Island in China and the target of 10,000 Chinese tourists that we achieved last year will hit 14,000 this year," said Andre Viljoen, the interim Air Mauritius CEO.