By Victor Shalton
Air Seychelles Resumes Flights to Johannesburg and Maldives, Plans Dubai Launch
Air Seychelles resumed direct services from Johannesburg to the Seychelles and Maldives beginning June 5. The new services will be operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays from the South African city’s O.R. Tambo International Airport to Seychelles and will also include an overnight service on Saturday nights to provide more flexibility to those planning a quick getaway.
Flight HM060 will depart O.R. Tambo International Airport at 1:3o p.m. to arrive in Seychelles at 8:45 p.m., while flight HM061 bound for South Africa will depart the archipelago at 9:25 a.m. to arrive in Johannesburg at 12:30 p.m. The overnight Saturday service will depart from Johannesburg at 12:45 a.m. Sunday morning to arrive in Seychelles at 7:45 a.m.
Travellers can also book their connections from Johannesburg to Praslin without having to overnight in Mahé.
For passengers looking for more options and connectivity in an all-inclusive vacation on a private island, Air Seychelles flights will be departing Johannesburg on Friday evenings for the Maldives, making an intermediate stop briefly in Seychelles before continuing onto Male’s International Airport. Return flights from Male are scheduled to operate on Saturdays to provide travellers a full week in the Maldives, and will be served by the airlines’ A320neo aircraft.
Air Seychelles also seeks to operate more flights to Dubai this July, with weekly service running from July 1 until July 24, utilizing the airline’s A320neo jetliner as well.
The airline will make available a total of 840 seats on this route providing leisure and business travellers with the chance to plan a quick getaway to Dubai. Additional flights on this route will operate on July 18.
The scheduled service will depart Seychelles on Thursday afternoon, while the returning flight from Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 will operate every Friday morning.
Travelers to the Indian Ocean country will need to present a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival, while those vacationing in Seychelles must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before traveling and must have proof of valid travel insurance and completed mandatory Health Travel Authorization.
Hanging over the airline’s head are the long-running rumors that a potential parting of ways between Etihad Airways and Air Seychelles may be on course with reports suggesting the Seychelles government and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad reaching an agreement for the government to take full control of Air Seychelles.
Etihad is reportedly in the process of selling its 40% stake in Air Seychelles for a dismal $1 with the airline canceling over $60 million in debt on the process. Considering how small Air Seychelles is, this amount of debt is astronomical as the airline only operates a fleet of two Airbus A320neos and five DHC 6-400 Twin Otters.
Victor Shalton’s love for aviation can be traced to when he was 11-years-old. As a seasoned aviation writer, he takes pride in providing the best aviation coverage around the globe and is passionate about advancing his skills in the aviation space. In addition, he loves travelling, writing, arts and while his speaking engagements have taken him around the world, he is proud to call Nairobi home.