Ethiopian Airlines Schedules Flights to Mauritius During US-Africa Business Summit 2026

At the end of May 2026, Ethiopian Airlines announced it had received authorization from the Mauritian authorities to operate seasonal flights from Addis Ababa to Mauritius between 15 June 2026 and 30 September 2026. The time window includes the upcoming 18th US-Africa Business Summit 2026 (#UABS2026), which is being held in Mauritius from 26 to 29 July 2026.

During that time frame, two weekly flights will be available and will make it easier for African countries and other parts of the world to reach Mauritius. Previously, most passengers from African countries had to go through the Emirates Airlines hub in Dubai to come to Mauritius.

Being an African airline, Ethiopian Airlines has a larger destination footprint in its home market of Africa compared to Emirates Airlines. Ethiopian Airlines flies to nearly 80 cities in Africa, whereas Emirates Airlines only serves about 25 cities. However, Emirates (ET) has more than 280 passenger jets, compared to just shy of 160 by Ethiopian (ETH).

Positioning itself as a high-end tourist destination, Mauritius favored direct links to Western Europe. leveraging the Air France hub in Paris. There were some talks with Qatar Airways, but an agreement has yet to be signed. Air Mauritius sold many of its jets at a discount price during the #COVID, but now faces financial challenges and order delays to renew its fleet.

For the moment, the arrangement is temporary and expires on 30 September 2026. Shortly after, Mauritius will enter the peak season for European tourists as the Christmas holiday season approaches.

On the other hand, if Mauritius wishes to position itself as one of the top conference venues for African summits and further boost the #MICE segment, then the availability of flights to African capitals and the enhancement of air #connectivity will have to be seriously considered.