Mauritius Flight From Israel Canceled After Landing Clearance Was Not Granted

A special Air Seychelles service carrying Israeli vacationers to Mauritius was canceled on September 26 after the landing clearance required for the flight was not available.

The trip

The trip had been organized and sold by the Israeli travel company Spirit Productions World. The service was not a regular nonstop Tel Aviv, Mauritius route. Spirit’s own travel material described the journey as operating via Seychelles, with passengers continuing to Mauritius after a stop in Mahé.

According to Spirit, efforts continued through the night to resolve the authorization problem, but the flight ultimately did not depart Ben Gurion Airport. The company said the necessary approval from Mauritius had not been granted and that Air Seychelles canceled the operation.

An unconfirmed political explanation

Spirit also said information available to the company suggested that political or diplomatic considerations may have played a role. That explanation remains an attributed claim, not an officially confirmed Mauritian position. By the research cutoff, no public statement from the Mauritian government, its civil aviation authorities, Airports of Mauritius, or Air Seychelles had confirmed that the decision was political.

The distinction matters because several reports presented the political explanation more strongly than the available evidence supports. Spirit’s owner and CEO, Tali Yativ, used conditional language when commenting on the possibility of a political motive.

Diplomatic background

There is, however, relevant diplomatic background. In October 2025, Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful told parliament that the government elected in November 2024 had deliberately reduced bilateral exchanges with Israel to a minimum. He also said that a request by an Israeli airline to operate direct flights between Israel and Mauritius that year had not been accepted.

That earlier policy provides context for the latest cancellation, but it does not prove why this specific Air Seychelles charter was unable to operate.

No ban on Israeli travelers

There is also no evidence of a blanket ban on Israeli travelers. Current Mauritian entry information continues to list Israeli passport holders as visa-exempt, subject to normal entry requirements. Connecting travel to Mauritius also remains possible in principle, although passengers should confirm current schedules and operating permissions before booking.

What remains unknown

Several important details remain unresolved. No public document has clarified exactly which authorization was missing, whether any earlier approval had been withdrawn, how many passengers were affected, or what refund and rebooking arrangements were offered. The status of future special flights has also not been publicly established.

For now, the clearest account is that the charter was canceled because the required Mauritian landing clearance was not available. Spirit believes political considerations were involved, but Mauritius had not publicly confirmed that explanation.