Air Seychelles welcomes inaugural flight from Almaty, Kazakhstan

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles has today welcomed its first flight from Almaty, linking the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan to the paradisiacal islands of the Seychelles.

Flight HM75 landed at the Seychelles International Airport at 8:30am and was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute, in the presence of key dignitaries, government representatives as well as media partners.

To celebrate this milestone, the Minister for Transport, Mr. Anthony Derjacques, Air Seychelles Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sandy Benoiton, together with the PS for Civil Aviation, Mr. Alan Renaud and Director General for Tourism Seychelles Mr. Paul Lebon, were part of the welcoming committee to mark the commencement of the new service.

Operated by the airline’s Airbus A320 aircraft ‘Veuve’ and commanded by Captain Herve Morel and First Officer Dereck Imaduwa while the passengers were looked after by Cabin Manager Jaqueline Confiance and other crew members including Yanick Commettant, Laureen Loze, Carol Agathine and Engineer Claude Lafortune. The flight carried a total of 137 passengers.

Addressing the guests during the welcoming ceremony, Minister Derjacques said: “We are thrilled to see Air Seychelles land its first flight from Kazakhstan, expanding its global reach and connecting Seychelles to the vibrant city of Almaty. Air Seychelles’s ambition is to be profitable and sustainable and to foster tourism growth. Flying to Almaty ticks all these boxes. The Kazakhs have a saying: ‘Native land is a paradise for everybody’. We couldn’t agree more with this sentiment, applied to Seychelles, and we look forward with delight to welcome travelers from Kazakhstan to showcase our natural beauty and rich culture.”

Sandy Benoiton, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles added further: ‘We are delighted to welcome our first guests onboard this first flight out of Almaty, and also for adding Kazakhstan to our network.”

This seasonal service will run until the 27 March 2023 with twice weekly flights and with additional flights on sale during the festive season.