Air Seychelles will resume scheduled passenger flights between India and Seychelles this December.
Air Seychelles ceased its commercial services in Mumbai on March 25, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the airline has operated charter, repatriation and cargo flights on this route, using its fleet of A320neo aircraft.
The announcement follows the travel restrictions between the two countries as announced by the local Ministry of Health this month.
From December 2, 2021, Air Seychelles will operate weekly flights from Mumbai to Seychelles, increasing to two flights a week from January 2022, with convenient onward connections to Johannesburg.
Air Seychelles chief commercial officer Charles Johnson said with the return of flights to India, Air Seychelles is now flying to all of its pre-pandemic destinations,
“After a 20-month hiatus, we are thrilled to be offering normal commercial flights once again between India and the Seychelles. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to offer some charter flights between the two countries, but on an extremely limited basis," he said.
According to Air Seychelles, travellers to Seychelles must produce a negative Covid-19 PCR test result at least 72 hours before departure. They also need to complete Health Travel Authorisation at seychelles.govtas.com and have valid travel insurance covering Covid-19.
“For those bound to Mumbai, besides the negative PCR test result, the completed approval received from the mandatory health declaration form completed 72 hours prior to departure via the Air Suvidha portal will also be verified upon check-in. As each city may have specific entry requirements, travellers with onward domestic connections are requested to verify and adhere to the guidelines of their final destination,” Johnson explained.