On March 14, Air Mauritius Board Chairman Kishore Beegoo, who assumed the role in January, addressed the press to outline the dire state of Air Mauritius. According to reports from that conference, he described the airline as being in a critical financial condition, with accumulated losses that have severely undermined its stability.
Specifically, he highlighted that the financial statements for the year ending March 2024 showed losses amounting to Rs 15.5 billion (approximately 317 million euros).
Beegoo painted a grim picture, noting a deficit in shareholder equity of Rs 9.5 billion (195 million euros) and a “negative equity” situation approaching Rs 10 billion. He attributed this to a decade of mismanagement, including strategic missteps like retaining an Rs 8 billion (163.6 million euros) loan from Airport Holdings Ltd (AHL) as debt for two years instead of converting it to equity earlier, which damaged the airline’s credit profile. “It hurt our standing with banks and suppliers,” Beegoo said, noting it blocked smart moves like fuel hedging to cut costs.
This loan was finally converted to equity by February 2025, allowing the 2024 financials to be finalized. He also criticized past decisions, such as selling aircraft only to lease back older, less efficient Airbus A330s, and locking into unfavorable contracts, including an over-order of Airbus A350s under unfavorable contracts, locking the airline into long-term financial burdens.
Operationally, Beegoo pointed to a disorganized structure with a lack of cohesion and accountability across departments. The commercial division, for instance, had been selling tickets at a loss due to poor cost oversight, while the technical department’s budget ballooned to Rs 5 billion annually (102.25 million euros), 19% of total expenses, exacerbated by a Rs 442 million (9.04 million euros) stock of obsolete spare parts. He also flagged organizational issues, including excessive politicization—famously quipping about “a doctor giving instructions to pilots.”
To address the situation, Kishore Beegoo outlined a restructuring plan launched under his leadership. This included reinstating Laurent Recoura as Chief Commercial Officer. Recoura stepped down in July 2024 after being suspended in May 2024 amid allegations of misconduct and a dispute with the ousted CEO, Charles Cartier. Beegoo also recruited three financial experts to overhaul cost management, as well as planning to hire 12 technicians and 16 engineers in April 2025, supported by a technical agreement with Airbus.
Beegoo emphasized a goal of reaching a break-even point within a year and profitability by the second year, though he cautioned that reversing a decade of damage would take time. “We will not be able to change in three months what has been done wrong in 10 years, we are working on the restructuring of the company,” said the new Chairman of Air Mauritius.
For aircraft purchased in excess, Air Mauritius is in discussion with Airbus to explore options to modify or postpone the purchase, so that the burden of paying for an aircraft that the company does not need immediately does not penalize, the chairman said.
Air Mauritius signaled a new direction with the appointment of a fresh Board of Directors on January 13. Kishore Beegoo succeeded Marday Venketasamy as Chairperson, leading efforts to restore the airline’s financial health.
The airline is owned by Airport Holdings Ltd (AHL), a holding company controlled by the Government of Mauritius (51%) and the Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), a subsidiary of the Bank of Mauritius (49%).
