Air Seychelles

History

Air Seychelles was formed on 15 September 1977 as Seychelles Airlines through the merger of Air Mahé and Inter-Island Airways, and was renamed Air Seychelles the following year; it began long-haul international service in 1983 with routes to Frankfurt and London. The airline struggled financially over the following decades, prompting Etihad Airways to acquire a 40% stake for US$45 million in February 2012 as part of Etihad's wider equity-alliance strategy, which brought new aircraft, codeshares, and investment. Etihad scaled back that strategy after its own financial difficulties, and Air Seychelles closed its sole remaining long-haul route, to Paris, in January 2018, refocusing on regional and domestic flying; Etihad fully divested its stake on 1 May 2021, returning full ownership to the Seychelles government.

Current Operations

Air Seychelles operates today as a regional and domestic carrier owned by the Government of Seychelles, flying a narrowbody and turboprop fleet from its Mahé hub to destinations around the Indian Ocean region, including South Africa, Mauritius, and other nearby markets, alongside domestic inter-island services. It is not a member of any of the three major global alliances but maintains codeshare and interline partnerships with carriers such as Etihad Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and SriLankan Airlines, and participates in the regional Vanilla Alliance grouping of Indian Ocean airlines.

Last verified 2026-09-03· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

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