Press Communique 20 September 2026 - Air Mauritius hits record 52nd in Skytrax world rankings

Press Communique

Monday 20 September 2026

Skytrax Ranking -Press Communique 21 September 2026 18h30.pdf

Air Mauritius hits record 52nd in Skytrax world rankings

(Langham Hotel in London, 18th September 2026) - Air Mauritius has reached 52nd place in the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, its highest-ever ranking, up from 63rd in 2025. The airline was also named home to the second-best Cabin Crew in Africa, behind EgyptAir and ahead of Ethiopian Airlines.

The result marks a new high since Air Mauritius first earned 4-Star Airline status from Skytrax in 2014, a rating held by an elite group of around 40 airlines worldwide, including British Airways, Air France, Air India, Emirates, Qantas, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. The 4-Star seal recognises consistent quality across cabins, and strong service standards both onboard and at home-base airports.

The 2026 World Airline Awards were announced on 18 September at a gala ceremony in London, hosted by Skytrax. Often called the "Oscars of the aviation industry," the awards have been independent since 1999, funded and run entirely by Skytrax. The rankings are drawn from the world's largest annual airline passenger satisfaction survey, covering more than 300 airlines worldwide.

"I am grateful to every team member who has contributed to this journey, and particularly to those on the frontline, whose effort and care are felt directly by every guest we carry," said Andre Viljoen, CEO of Air Mauritius. "We are Mauritius. This result confirms that the strategic direction is right and the commitment is real. There is more to come."

The airline attributes the improvement to its Building Remarkable Service Quality strategy, one of the "Game Changers" guiding its transformation into a future-fit airline. Centred on an authentic Mauritian hospitality mindset across every guest interaction, the strategy is reshaping the full guest journey, with particular focus on the onboard experience through the coming months.

The improved ranking comes after a long and difficult period for the national carrier, and marks a milestone in its ongoing turnaround, which comes down to listening to passengers on what needed to change, and to staff on how to change it. "We heard our passengers and our people. You don't fix an airline from the top down. You fix it by perfecting the fundamentals. That only works if the people doing the work are heard too," Andre Viljoen said.

That foundation-first approach is now the airline's stated priority. Air Mauritius has set its sights on breaking into Skytrax's top 20 airlines worldwide, and says the changes behind this year's jump will be visible to passengers directly, be it onboard, on the ground, in the airport lounge, and at its ticketing offices as the improvements continue through 2026 and 2027.

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