Seychelles Airlines: A new second airline for the island nation?

Following the application for an air service (transport) license and air operator certificate in the first half of 2013 by the owners of a proposed new airline, intent to trade as Seychelles Airlines, now nearly three years have passed, and the progress on this application has to date not brought about a conclusion of the matter.

For a while in court, when the registration of the name, initially approved, was then rescinded, prompting the owners of the company to seek a court directive to reinstate the name, was that case dispensed with in September last year as reported here at the time. The court ruled in favour of the applicant and directed the Registrar of Companies to re-register the trade name, a decision which the government did not appeal.

However, further progress with the application process continued to be slow and the SCAA faced some criticism and allegations to which the organization’s CEO Mr. Gilbert Faure responded and in fact took his side of the story to the local media.

It is understood that the SCAA has retained the services of the UK Civil Aviation Authority on a consulting basis to deal with this case and others too due to the need for added international expertise on the matter, similar to a process Air Seychelles, the national airline, also underwent some time ago.

In February this year did then another meeting of Seychelles Airlines owners and legal representatives take place with the SCAA and the UKCAA during which reportedly added material and information was requested by the regulators, subsequently submitted on the 27th of April, just days after the annual Carnival International de Victoria had ended.


Efforts at the time to establish facts and obtain updates were not possible as a short term meeting with the SCAA could not be arranged prior to this correspondent’s departure from Mahe for Praslin and La Digue and subsequent flight back to the African mainland.

However, an update received from regular sources in Victoria suggests that the application is still not complete as far as documentation is concerned as information about the specific aircraft to be operated by the new airline remains missing, though mention of the B767-300 type has been made, just not the aircraft which is to be acquired through lease.
This saga will not end any time soon but as and when a decision is handed down by the SCAA be sure to read it right here.