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□Direct flights to Mauritius, a beautiful island nation in Africa called the Hidden Gem of the Indian Ocean and Heaven while Alive, will soon be available.
ㅇ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Kim Hyun-mee) announced that the ‘Korea-Mauritius Aviation Meeting*’ to determine the number of flights between the two nations and discuss direct flight operation plans, etc. was held with representatives of Mauritius in Port Louis, Mauritius (Feb 20-21, 2019).
* Senior Delegate (Korea) Jin Hyun-hwan, MOLIT Aviation Policy Officer (Mauritius) Mr. Nayen Koomar Ballah, GOSK Secretary of the Aviation Bureau
□ Even after 50 years since making diplomatic ties between the two nations in ‘71, no direct flights between the two nations were offered. Therefore, travelers had to transit through one or more cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai, resulting in various inconveniences such as long transit times.
□ In order to reduce such inconveniences for travelers and to expand the aviation network in Africa, which only has a few flight services* departing from Korea, MOLIT held this aviation meeting.
ㅇ The two nations agreed on offering up to four flights (passenger/cargo) a week, while also setting code share provisions between airline companies of the two nations and third countries to provide the cornerstone for opening direct flights* between the two countries.
* The only direct flight between Korea and Africa is the Adis Ababa-Incheon flight serviced by Ethiopian Airlines, and in the past, Korean Air offered three weekly flights between Incheon and Nairobi, but closed the route due to lack of passengers in 2014
** Using the direct flight (that takes about 12 hours), it will be possible to significantly reduce travel time compared to existing routes (average 20 hours or more with one transit)
□ MOLIT Aviation Policy Officer Jin Hyun-hwan stated, “Due to the recently increased demand of the younger generation who prefer new unexplored travel destinations and the need of the times to pioneer new aviation markets, the aviation authorities of Korea and Mauritius agreed to open direct flights between the two nations.“
* Starting from September, the national flag airline of Mauritius, Air Mauritius is scheduled to service direct flights between Seoul and Port Louis starting at once a week
ㅇ He added, “Starting with the Mauritius road renovation project* that Korean companies are taking part in, our friendship with Mauritius has now led to direct flights between our two nations, and it was an opportunity for the friendly cooperative relationship of the two nations to be further deepened.”
* Road Congestion Reduction Project Stage 1: Being carried out by the Korea Expressway Corporation (consulting cost 1.2 billion KRW)
□ Mauritius is an island country located in the Indian Ocean 800km east of Africa. It is a small country with a population of approximately 1.3 million and has an area that is similar to that of Jeju-do. However, the GDP per capita is third out of 54 countries in Africa following Seychelles and Equatorial Guinea, and it has been selected as the most competitive nation in Africa.
* (Area) 2,040㎢ (1인당 GDP) USD10,547
** In the ‘2018 Global Competitiveness Report’, the World Economic Forum selected Mauritius as the most competitive nation in Africa
ㅇ Thanks to its beautiful natural environment, it is becoming one of the most popular honeymoon destinations in the world. It has also reported said that the writer Mark Twain praised the beauty of Mauritius saying, “Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius.”
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