Association for the Protection of the Environment and Consumers
Air Mauritius has at this stage no reason to cancel its flights to Madagascar, where there is an epidemic of pneumonic plague. This statement comes from Donald Payen. Executive Vice President – Customer Experiences, Ground and In-Flight Services at Air Mauritius. He said MK is maintaining a permanent health watch on this issue while remaining informed of the World Health Organization and the health authorities.
How much exactly Air Mauritius has lost because of the internal crisis that led to the grounding of four aircrafts last week? One source at the company told a media that the amount calculated has reached a million euro, read Rs 40 million approximatively. The CEO Somas Appavou puts the figures at Rs 120 million or three times more at his press conference last night. But a day earlier, Prime minister Pravind Jugnauth’s calculator reached the Rs 240 million mark. That is six times more. He said so to the media, following a function. Which is which?
All precautionary and control measures are being taken at the airport and the port. Surveillance is also being reinforced at all levels in a bid to prevent transmission of pneumonic plague which is currently affecting Madagascar.
Plague is endemic to Madagascar but contrary to past outbreaks, this one is affecting large urban areas including the capital and port cities. The outbreak of plague is an annual occurrence in Madagascar which normally reports about 400 cases per year, usually in remote highlands. This outbreak is different since many of the infected live in more densely populated towns and the capital and the infections reported are pneumonic plague which is transmitted through the air, making it much more difficult to control.
About 1200 passengers travel between Mauritius and Madagascar every week.