The British Ministry of Defence has renewed its contract with Air Seychelles, singling out the airline’s satisfactory performance on its operations to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

 

The airline’s executive chairman, Captain David Savy, said: “The UK Ministry of Defence has stated its preference for Air Seychelles to operate the Falklands airbridge, and we have been able to secure the traffic rights to fly between the UK and the Falklands.

“This is a good testimony to our very good capability and performance in operating flights from the UK via Ascension Island to the Falklands.”

The contract awarded to Air Seychelles is to transport British personnel to the two islands. It is considered a domestic service given that the point of origin is the UK, and Falklands and Ascension are British territories.
Air Seychelles employs a number of British nationals as flight crew on this particular route.

The contract renewal means Air Seychelles will continue operating twice-weekly flights between UK and the Falklands from next month.

Speaking in January last year, when Air Seychelles launched the Falklands airbridge flights, President James Michel hailed the airline’s services as a mark of its high standing and of the professionalism and dedication of its staff.

He spoke of the increasingly competitive international airline market and saw it as encouraging for Air Seychelles to seek to adopt innovative practices beyond its core business.

“Innovation is key to Seychelles being ready for the future, and we congratulate Air Seychelles for taking the lead in this way,” he said in his congratulatory message last year.

Air Seychelles operates a B767-300ER aircraft, which flies from the Brize Norton Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire to Ascension and then on to the Falklands in the South Atlantic, off the southern tip of South America.

Mount Pleasant in the Falklands is one of the southernmost aerodromes on our planet, and the Falklands is often used as a last staging post for expeditions to the Antarctic.

The national airline’s experience of flying 767s to isolated island locations was a major factor in the renewal of the contract, especially as Wideawake airfield on Ascension and RAF Mount Pleasant on the Falklands are both isolated.

Air Seychelles was also considered the best choice as it is one of the world’s most experienced B767 operators, with over 21 years of extended-range operations.

 

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