Transport minister visits Air Seychelles facilities |20 November 2020

The Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, continued his familiarisation visits yesterday at Air Seychelles where he visited the ground support equipment area and cargo facilities.

Minister Derjacques was accompanied by the chief executive of Air Seychelles, Remco Althuis and senior management of the company.

Following his visit the minister remarked that Air Seychelles is offering a good service, however the structure of the airport has been the same for 45 years and there is a need to invest in new infrastructure in order to provide optimum service to tourists and members of the public.

“The ground support equipment area and the cargo facilities are all outdated and we will need to find a way to improve this,” said the minister.

Regarding the government sustaining Air Seychelles since the pandemic, Mr Derjacques said that during the last three years the airline has faced many financial setbacks and the company has had to adjust fixed contracts, allowances and staff wages.

Minister Derjacques noted that there are some concerns brought forward by the Minister for Finance and IMF about the government supporting Air Seychelles, but he believes that Air Seychelles is essential.

“With Covid-19 the airline has suffered even more so we are now working with the Office of the President and Minister for Finance to find a way forward for Air Seychelles,” he said.

“If we can put a good policy and strategy in place then as the Minister for Transport I will ask the government to continue supporting Air Seychelles and give the company a chance to continue operations and find a way to utilise their new aircraft,” he said.

He added that there is hope for the future as some flying destinations are opening up and as minister he will keep a close eye on the state of the world’s aviation industry in the coming months.

The accompanying photos show Minister Derjacques during his visit yesterday.

Christophe Zialor

Photos: Jude Morel