Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius, with its hub based at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. The company was placed in voluntary administration on 22 April 2020 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company was set up on 14 June 1967 by Air France, the BOAC enterprise, and the Government of Mauritius, with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co. Ltd., the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC in Mauritius.
In the beginning, the carrier operated international services in conjunction with Air France, Air India and British Airways, which jointly had a 25% holding in Air Mauritius at that time. Until 1972, the company restricted its activities to ground services only; it started flight operations in its own right in August 1972 with a six-seater Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft leased from Air Madagascar, connecting Mauritius with Rodrigues. The aircraft wore an Air Mauritius decor but kept a Malagasy registration.
In 1973, a wet-leased Vickers VC10 from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to London via Nairobi, whereas services to Bombay were operated by Air India. The Navajo was replaced with a 16-seater Twin Otter that was acquired in 1975. When an agreement with Air France and British Airways came to an end, a Boeing 707-400 wet-leased from British Airtours helped the airline to start long-haul services in its own right. Long-range operations started on 1 November 1977.