Mauritius flag-carrier, Air Mauritius has launched a direct weekly flight service from the Indian Ocean island’s capital Port Louis to the Mozambican capital Maputo.

The airline said in a statement that the direct flight from Mauritius would depart on Wednesdays with the return journey going via the South African tourism city of Durban.

“African economies have shown remarkable resilience to the global crisis. Their growth rates have been consistently higher than the global average and the expansion of our network on the African continent is a step to address the need for more air connectivity” said Megh Pillay, the airline’s chief executive.

In particular, Pillay further stated that “these new flights will contribute to feeding the air corridor that links Africa and Asia via the hubs of Mauritius and Singapore”.

Several other international airlines fly into Maputo including South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, the Portuguese company TAP, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Mozambique flag-carrier Linhas Aereas de Mocambique, LAM only flies to regional destinations such as Harare in Zimbabwe, Johannesburg, South Africa and the Kenyan capital Nairobi after it was banned from flying in the European airspace due to poor safety record.