Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) is attempting to wet-lease a widebody aircraft at short notice to plug a capacity gap caused by two of its aircraft unexpectedly going AOG.
The airline issued a request for proposal (RFP) (reference No. PROC/020/24/GM) on January 12, 2024, and calls for prospective lessors to submit their bids to supply an unspecified type of widebody on an ACMI basis by January 15. ch-aviation has contacted Air Mauritius for further details.
According to ch-aviation fleets data, the Air Mauritius widebody fleet includes two A330-200s, two A330-900Ns, and four A350-900s. However, a series of recent operational challenges have caused severe disruptions.
According to ADS-B data, both A330-200s are operational, while one of the A330-900Ns, 3B-NBV (msn 1890), last operated on January 12, completing a Geneva - Port Louis service, and one of the A350-900s, 3B-NBP (msn 145), last operated on January 9, after technical issues forced it to return to Paris CDG.
Port Louis-based media report that over half of the airline's scheduled flights since the end of December have been seriously delayed or cancelled, impacting over 66,000 passengers. Over the weekend, the Port Louis - Perth International - Port Louis service was cancelled and on January 14 a Delhi International flight was diverted to Mumbai International, where the on-the-ground customer service was described on social media as "horrendous." In addition to a shortage of aircraft, Air Mauritius is also reportedly severely short staffed.
