Madam Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of the House that information regarding this question have been obtained from the Department of Civil Aviation as the regulator and Air Mauritius Ltd. With regard to part (a) of the question, I wish to inform the House that currently, three airlines, namely Air Mauritius, Air India, and Indigo, operate on the Mauritius-Asia route. The destinations are: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai in India and also Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. In addition, Air India and Malaysia Airlines have codeshare agreement with Air Mauritius, connecting Mauritius with Asia. As regards China, I am informed that China Southern Airlines and Air Mauritius were operating direct flights on the Mauritius-China route. China Southern Airlines ceased operations on 28 November 2015 whereas Air Mauritius continued till 31 January 2020. There is presently no direct flight between Mauritius and China, although I believe that China Southern Airlines are discussing with Air Mauritius and Civil Aviation to restart the route. I am informed by the Department of Civil Aviation that, so far, the Middle East crisis has not affected the operation of scheduled flights between Mauritius and Asia by Air Mauritius, Air India and Indigo. However, the crisis has led to a significant increase in Jet-A1 fuel prices throughout the world and this has affected the costs of operation of Air Mauritius as well as the prices of air tickets. A Committee has been set up by Air Mauritius to explore all the opportunities to mitigate the impact of rising Jet-A1 fuel costs. Air Mauritius is closely monitoring the situation and will take appropriate action as circumstances would warrant. Concerning part (b) of the question, Madam Speaker, according to Air Mauritius, the concept of ‘air corridor’ between Asia and Africa via Mauritius was implemented with effect from 11 March 2016. However, this concept was terminated in 2017 as there were several structural flaws which eventually led to the operations running at a loss. There is no plan to re-establish such a corridor for the time being. Air Mauritius has enlisted the services of a consulting firm to conduct a network and fleet review. Currently, Air Mauritius is embarking on a set of game changing strategies aimed not only at improving the performance of the company but also to build resilience in the face of emerging challenges. Air Mauritius is not immediately envisaging a strategic partnership with any airline at this stage but they are looking at it.

Yes, you are okay? Right! Again, the hon. Second Member for Flacq & Bon Accueil – very popular today. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE – PROPOSED ESTABLISHMENT – INCENTIVE PACKAGE – FINANCIAL COST & BENEFITS