With Durban-Mauritius climbing into Embraer’s top 10 unserved routes in Africa, travel agents say demand is strong enough to sustain a direct service.
Durban-Mauritius entered Embraer’s top 10 unserved routes for 2026, rising from 13th to sixth place. While passengers currently connect via Johannesburg, the report indicates the route could support three weekly non-stop flights on a 120-seat aircraft.
“Demand for travel between Durban and Mauritius is consistently strong. Mauritius remains a preferred destination for leisure travellers, honeymooners, and families from KwaZulu-Natal,” said Sarika Jankeepersad, from Travelwhizz.
Victoria Webster, GM of Commercial at The Holiday Factory, said demand was strong for leisure travellers as well as VFR demand between Durban and Mauritian communities.
“Durban has a long-established Mauritian community, with many families tracing their roots to Mauritius. These families continue to maintain strong cultural and family connections with the island, resulting in consistent year-round travel to visit relatives. A direct Durban-Mauritius route would cater for this passenger base while also supporting tourism and business travel between the two destinations,” said Nathalie Carbonel from Experience Travel.
Current routing
Flights to Mauritius are currently directed through Johannesburg, with travellers using SAA, FlySafair or Air Mauritius.
Webster said the lack of a direct Durban-Mauritius flight was one of its clients’ biggest frustrations. “Connecting through Johannesburg increases the overall travel time and introduces the risk of delays, missed onward flights and baggage not arriving with the passenger.”
“With connections via Johannesburg, clients are often discouraged by the need to purchase separate domestic flights, longer travel times, and the potential for missed connections. These factors can influence clients to postpone their travel or consider alternative destinations,” said Jankeepersad.
Sustaining the route
Consistent demand would be key to the route's commercial success and would give airlines the confidence to launch the service.
“A direct service offering competitive fares, convenient schedules, and consistent frequency would be well received. It would simplify the travel experience, reduce overall travel costs, and stimulate demand from the KwaZulu-Natal market,” said Jankeepersad.
Bernice Immelman, Land & Air Supply Manager at Beachcomber Tours, said that potentially starting with two weekly services would allow demand to build while maintaining healthy load factors.
“However, the main challenges would be seasonal fluctuations in demand and maintaining viable load factors throughout the year. The route would also need to remain price competitive against existing one-stop alternatives,” said Beachcomber.
Although challenges included airline operating costs, seasonal demand, and achieving sustainable load factors, Jankeepersad said they could be mitigated through strategic scheduling, competitive pricing, and strong support from the travel trade.
Onward connections
A direct Durban-Mauritius service would not only improve access to the island but also strengthen onward connectivity through Air Mauritius’s network.
“A majority of the Indian population in South Africa reside in KwaZulu-Natal. Air Mauritius onward connections to India would greatly benefit this population,” said Carbonel.
