A little something new under the sun. Thursday October 10, 2024, the Departmental Assembly of Mayotte voted in favor of a subsidy of 500,000 euros intended to help the airline Zena Airlines obtain its Air Transport Certificate (CTA).
Proud of this “decisive step”, the Department wishes to show that it is the ally of the Mahorais, by facilitating their air travel and by “sustainably transforming the economy of Mayotte”, to “strengthen its connectivity with the world. »
Passenger transport authorization required
Next step, demonstrate solid technical guarantees. The Zena Airlines company will have to submit a request to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) to obtain a certificate authorizing it to transport passengers to and from Mayotte.
Efforts expected from competitors
For around twenty years, the prices of plane tickets to and from the Mahorean archipelago have continued to increase. In question, elected officials point the finger at the company Air Austral which holds almost the exclusivity of the Mahorais air market. The president of the Departmental Council, Ben Issa Ousseni, believes that this situation has greatly benefited the airline Air Austral, whose prices of its plane tickets without competitive limit, are considered very clearly abusive by citizens. “Air Austral does what it wants, it charges exorbitant prices because it is the only one in the territory,” reiterates the representative of the 101st department.
For the Department, the stakes are high. “Whatever the airline concerned”, Ben Issa Ousseni judges that Air Austral’s competitors (editor’s note: Air France, Corsair) will also have to “make efforts”. Currently, while in Reunion, 5 direct flights per day are offered to reach Paris, in Mayotte, direct flights are becoming increasingly rare. Most of the available flights have one, even two, or even three stopovers, passing through Reunion, Kenya, or even the Netherlands, at prices of up to 2,000 euros one way.
“Territorial continuity” at stake
With reference to the short runway at Pamandzi airport, representatives of Air France and Corsair affirm that Mayotte’s airport infrastructure is “clearly insufficient” to consider a sustainable establishment of their company on the island. Consequently, Mayotte is the only overseas department not to be served by the airline Air France, supposed to ensure a role of “territorial continuity” between France and the overseas departments.
Regarding the 500,000 euros granted to Zena Airlines, the president of the Departmental Council wishes to remain cautious. The objective is not to systematically help airlines which would consider serving Mayotte, the challenge is that an airline, such as Air France, respects its role as a “national company” and “territorial continuity”, explains the representative of the department. “We want companies to come and companies to make efforts (…) Air France serves all overseas territories except Mayotte. Today, we cannot change their position. I spoke with the people in charge (editor’s note: of Air France and Corsair), they did not change their position (…) This is not current either at Bercy or at the Ministry of Overseas Territories. It’s very difficult.”
The arrival of Zena Airlines could well shake up the pretext cited by the Air France and Corsair companies of a landing runway that is too short at Marcel Henry airport. Ben Issa Ousseni believes that if Air Austral has resolved this constraint by putting into service Boeing 787-8s, the famous Dreamliners, which can take off on a short runway, Air France and Corsair can also achieve this. However, if the president of the airline Zena Airlines, Julien Novou, declares that the competitive commercial strategy will make it possible to significantly reduce the prices of plane tickets from Mayotte, the Mahorais prefer to be disappointed than to hope vaguely.
Mathilde Hangard
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