The Hindu Business Line : India, Mauritius sign pact to increase, extend air services

INDIA and Mauritius today signed an agreement that will let their airlines not only increase services between the two countries but also to destinations beyond.

India's airlines would be able to fly from cities in India to Mauritius and then carry passengers to two destinations in South Africa. The Government is yet to identify the airlines that will be granted this privilege, known as fifth freedom rights.

In the same vein, Air Mauritius which operates services to New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai can extend them to Karachi and Shanghai or Beijing. In addition, the airline has been allowed to operate flights to Bangalore.

The agreement also allows expansion of the number of weekly flights permitted by each country to 14 from the current 10 to cater to the "growing business contacts and tourist flows".

Mauritius has recently liberalised visa rules for tourists from India who stay up to a week or two; they can now get a visa on arrival.

For Air India, it will suggest another chance to resume services to the island.

Although flights began in the early 1980s, they were suspended, apparently on a lack of custom.

Instead, the airline entered into an arrangement where it asked Air Mauritius to operate the services to Indian cities and in turn got the right to sell a few seats on each of those flights.

Air India has similar agreements with airlines of many other countries.

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