Rédaction Africa Links 24 with lexpress
Published on 2024-03-02 02:45:00
Charles Yves Rakotonirina calls for the opening of Southern destinations to other airlines. Flights from Reunion to Toliara and Tolagnaro will be suspended until further notice. This does not bode well for the situation of tourist operators in both destinations.
It’s a thunderclap for tourist operators. Flights on Air Austral from Reunion to Toliara and Tolagnaro will be suspended until further notice. The company announced on February 27 that due to re-adjustment of flight schedules caused by financial constraints, flights to these two destinations will be suspended from April 1. The press release emphasizes that the temporary suspension is necessary to allow the company to regain a more “stable” financial situation. “The company apologizes to passengers affected by these flight cancellations. They will be contacted individually and directly by the commercial teams. The company has implemented commercial measures such as the possibility of a credit valid for 1 year from its date of issue. It is to be reused on flights operated by Air Austral…” the document states.
Air Austral has accumulated around 185 million euros in debts, of which 65 million euros have not been paid yet. It narrowly avoided the safeguard procedure at the beginning of the year. The airline resumed services to Southern destinations in Madagascar in November 2022 with a weekly frequency. This delighted both passengers and tourist operators.
Covid-19
The suspension, in other words, is due to the lack of profitability of routes to the south of the island. This concerns the President of the Board of Directors of the Anôsy Tourism Office, Charles Yves Rakotonirina, greatly. “Madagascar aims to welcome more than one million tourists within five years. However, could we promote our destination and our region if our flights are canceled? We risk falling back into the shadow of the damage caused by Covid-19 when many efforts have been made to recover,” he reacts. He proposes to open the destinations of Tolagnaro and Toliara to other airlines.
Furthermore, the President of the Anôsy Tourism Office is outraged by the complications in obtaining visas to La Réunion. “Tourists or passengers from Toliara and Tolagnaro have to go to Antananarivo to obtain a visa, which represents an additional cost of not less than 300 euros on top of the round-trip airfare and hotel and restaurant expenses. How can we make destinations profitable under these conditions?” he adds. What surprises many in this decision to suspend flights is that the French company is, on the other hand, increasing the number of flights to other destinations such as Antsiranana. Tolagnaro is known for its surfing spots and attracts fans and enthusiasts from Reunion. Tourists choose direct flights to Toliara and Tolagnaro to avoid always bypassing the capital from the sister island.
Read the original article(French) on lexpress.mg
