Seychelles International Airport amongst the top 10 in Africa |28 April 2018

The Seychelles International Airport has been ranked among the top 10 best airports in Africa. This was announced by Skytrax, the global market leader in aviation rankings and ratings, on the Air Travel Conservation news online.

Seychelles (ranked seventh) and Mauritius airport (ranked fourth) were the only two Indian Ocean island airports which featured among the top 10.

The main reason stated by Skytrax for the two islands airports to occupy such positions are that “both of which are undergoing or have already undergone major transformation to improve functionality and passenger experience, something several East African airports sadly lack”.

The news comes as a breath of fresh air as the Seychelles International Airport is to date striving to maintain standards at the airport when operating at full capacity. It is continuously undergoing renovation works to better cater for increased passenger demands and services.

The latest renovation work is currently taking place in the terminal arrival lounge area within the customs zone whereby new ceiling panels, floor tiles, lights and air condition units are being installed, so as to upgrade the lounge to the same standard as the newly renovated part of the arrival lounge.

“We have had our fair share of challenges for the past weeks, when we were having aircraft with full loads arriving one after the other during peak hours in the morning, by then only half of the arrival lounge was operational. It is quite challenging to operate in such an environment and it requires a lot of effort and proper coordination not only from the airport authority, but from other stakeholders operating within the arrival lounge to ensure that there is limited disruption in the processes, and that safety and security are not compromised,” said Gilbert Faure, the chief executive of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA).

Work on the arrival lounge will continue in phases until August this year. The SCAA keeps monitoring the situation on a daily basis and has recruited some helpers to aid passengers who have difficulty in finding their way around.

Another significant ongoing project is the Domestic Terminal Phase two which is due to be completed before the end of the year. This will cater for additional space for domestic passengers, and separate the arrival and departure lounges for domestic operations.

The SCAA is also working hand in hand with the police to reduce congestion in front of the terminal area during peak hours.

“We are making significant investment to ensure that we deliver in terms of the services that we provide, we remain open to criticism and try our utmost to redress disagreeable situations that arise. It is however very encouraging when we get good ratings from Skytrax, it shows that our efforts are duly recognised. It is something that our company, and our country should be proud of,” added CEO Faure.

Mr Faure adds that the SCAA will keep aiming high, hence remaining loyal to its mission of “delivering on our promise of highest standards in safety, security and quality of service for the customer” and hereby hopes that in the forthcoming years the Seychelles International Airport will move from seventh position to occupy one of the first three places in the Skytrax ranking.