Bad weather affects Air Seychelles’ operations |30 May 2016

Air Seychelles experienced an operational disruption last Thursday and Friday due to severe weather and gusting winds in Seychelles, the company has explained.

After two failed attempts to land the flight HM60 (May 26, 2016) from Johannesburg to Seychelles safely in Seychelles on account of strong winds, the captain correctly took the decision to divert the flight to the nearest alternative airport in Nosy Be (Madagascar). 

“Safety of our guests, cabin crew and aircraft always remains Air Seychelles number one priority,” says a communiqué from the airline.

After the aircraft had been refueled in Nosy Be, the flight continued to Antananarivo, where hotel accommodation and meals were provided to all affected guests. 

“Air Seychelles employees worked diligently to ensure operations return to normal as quick as possible. However, due to operational requirements including mandatory crew rest, the airline encountered further delay of the affected flight which had an impact on its related flight schedule, leading to cancellation of the Mumbai service on May 26 and 27 and consolidation of flying on Mauritius and Antananarivo route on May 27.

Roy Kinnear, chief executive of Air Seychelles, commented: ”We are very sorry for the unpleasant experience our guests had to go through.  However, in this case of severe weather disruption all efforts were made to mitigate the effect on our guests and provide full assistance.  In addition, we have taken the decision to compensate all affected guests for this inconvenient situation.

“We hope our guests understand these circumstances were outside our control and while the disruption was unpleasant we always place safety first.”

All affected guests were transported to their final destinations on Saturday, May 28, 2016 when Air Seychelles’ operations resumed as per normal schedule.