Air Seychelles recently announced a profit of US$8.4m for 2022, the first time the carrier had shown a profit since 2016, when it reported a small gain of US$425 000.

After reporting a loss of US$22.7m in 2021, and starting the year 2022 with a negative nett asset position of US$100.6m, 2022 was one of recovery for the airline.

Before the start of 2022, it had suffered the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included the shutting down of its key routes and the shrinking of its revenue streams.

After borders reopened, scheduled operations were re-established to Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Mauritius, and Mumbai, with a seasonal Almaty operation launched in December.

By the end of 2022, the company had achieved an overall profit of US$119.6m and, after excluding the debt write-off gains from the debt discounts during the company’s reorganisation process, made a profit of US$8.4m.

This profit enabled Air Seychelles to make repayments on its debt obligations.

Overall, the airline’s revenue had recovered to 93% of 2019 levels for this year, and even exceeded 2019 levels in the fourth quarter of 2022.