After a long period of absence, the Italian airline Alitalia landed at SSR International Airport this morning at 10:05. The A330 airplane arrived from Rome with 249 passengers on board, with an occupancy rate of 100%. The Vice-President Leisure Sales of Alitalia, Nicola Bonnachi, who flew to Mauritius for the occasion, said that he is happy to be able to connect Mauritius to Italy three times a week. “We are back to stay”, he said before adding that the occupancy rates for the coming flights are very encouraging.  He also said that he is confident in the success of this connection and highlighted the fact that Italy has a large Mauritian diaspora that this flight will be able to better connect to their island. “We have positive feedback from Russia, Greece, as well as from Spain”, he added. The Regional General Manager Asia Pacific of Alitalia, Massimo Allegri, was also present at the airport this morning.

The flights from Rome are scheduled on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Alitalia will be operating these flights only during the European winter, from October to March.

Italy remains one of the main markets for the Mauritian destination. The island has registered 24 376 Italian tourists from January to September 2018.

The Chairman of the MTPA, delegates of AML and travel agencies, as well as Father Philippe Goupille were among the guests present to mark the return of Alitalia in Mauritius. The latter proceeded to a blessing rite of the aircraft.

For the records, Alitalia is officially represented by Omarjee Aviation in Mauritius.