Mauritius Airport

Arrived with a bit of trepidation having read some poor reviews. Needn't have worried. Arrivals hall was clean. new looking building, very spacious and with about 8 immigration desks manned. Process was quick and staff friendly. Similar experience on departure. I used the Mauritius Air lounge which was among the best I've ever been in with better food on offer than in many restaurants. Well done Mauritius, your airport is a credit to you.

A decent medium sized airport. Arrivals leads you through many floors to a baggage hall, but is fairly functional. The arrival concourse has plenty of taxi and hotel counters if need be. Departures is a simpler, one-floor affair with a decent duty free shop and some overpriced cafes and boutiques. Airport is clean, efficient and has good wifi. Can be a bit noisy at peak hours, though.

Mauritius Airport is not a very large airport, but very functional. Considering the economical position and the size of the island, I think they are doing very well. The airport is nicely decorated with a waterfall. The queue times were okay, and immigration officers were polite. Airport employees were very friendly.

A 90 minute queue at immigration with elderly people and children. No explanation or apology. 3 desks staffed but two knocking off and not replaced for 20 minutes. A senior officer stood back and watched for the whole time and did nothing. Surly and unpleasant officer when we finally got to the desk. If this is the welcome to Mauritius I won't be visiting again. I thought they needed tourists. Similar attitude by the officer on departure although no long wait.

A 90 minute queue at immigration. No explanation or apology. 3 desks staffed but two knocking off and not replaced for 20 minutes. A senior officer stood back and watched for the whole time and did nothing. Surly and unpleasant officer when we finally got to the desk. If this is the welcome to Mauritius I won't be visiting again. I thought they needed tourists. Similar attitude by the officer on departure although no long wait.

Perfectly acceptable staff friendly and welcoming at Immigration and Health desks baggage on the carousel by the time we got through even if one of our bags was just about the last off the aircraft that is just the luck of the draw. From touch-down (A380 ex Dubai) to exit took about 50 minutes which is not bad given the number of passengers arriving. I have seen many worse. On departure queues were building up at the desks but all appeared to flow fairly quickly. Security staff perfectly pleasant and quite quick so no hassle pricey drinks in bar but no problem finding a seat. Lot more shopping opportunities than in the old airport pricier too! Boarding also went smoothly. All in all satisfactory reasonably comfortable and evidently well managed and trained staff.

I am a student here in Mauritius and every time I leave my home South Africa to come back to Mauritius I receive the same inhospitable and nasty attitude from the passport control office. My pen gave up on me so I was unable to fill that yellow form when I asked the clerk if I may borrow the pen in his pocket for just two minutes he point blankly refused and rudely told me to go to another clerk. The other clerk was none the better as he very sarcastically asked me all the personal questions about where I study etc. Due to this I was delayed and got my bags late and almost missed my ride back home. At least in the South African airports people are more welcoming!

All of the reviews I read are now quite old as a brand new terminal opened late 2013. Located right next to the older one it is now much larger and actually not completely used (you notice this on arrival). I use it almost every month for regional and intercontinental flights. As I live in Mauritius I usually park my car there and for a trip exceeding 4 days it is better to "lose" the car park ticket as the penalty for lost ticket is cheaper. Safe enough with cameras no worries. You can now drop off people without paying entrance (less than 20 minutes stay). Same for cabs who come and fetch you but because of that are waiting outside of the terminal car park to avoid paying parking. Checking in is a breeze if you hold a frequent flyer card as you can use business class counters. Even though it is usually not a pain at all as many counters are opened for any departing flight. Same for immigration with polite and efficient officers (now in police uniform). The departing lounge is wide enough with sufficient seating even when several flights depart at around the same time to Europe India or Dubai in the evening. There is a well appointed duty free but pricing keeps increasing and I believe is rather run for maximum margin rather than actual duty free (the company running it is a large one by local standards). The business lounge is obviously much better than before with newspapers/ magazines a fine selection of drinks but not so much on food. There is a free wifi working throughout the airport and working well each time I used it. The staff are professional. The Emirates A380 now flies daily to Plaisance airport no issues in handling this aircraft. On arrival it is now less likely that you need to take an airport bus (except for ATR72 flights) and the immigration process is again fast with the majority of booths manned by police officers. Yes there is another check right after that for health screening this is due to the country ongoing check for malaria. There is a smaller duty free on arrival popular with Mauritian returning home. You will get you luggage fast and going through the airport shouldn't take more than about half an hour unless you're on a flight that customs officers like to check more extensively.

Arrival in the afternoon with bus-transfer to the terminal. Quick and friendly immigration staff. Short waiting time for luggage and easy way out. Departure in a small overcrowded Terminal. Only 2 or 3 counters per airline. But then a very quick security check and short ways - because of only 4 gates. A few shops one duty- free one so-called restaurant. Poor seating possibilities approx. 200 places with three bigger planes 747 (to CDG) 767 (to LGW) and 767 (to DXB) no space for passengers! In future EK plans to fly in with the A380.

Recently I transited SSR (Plaissance) twice on my way from/to Australia and Reunion. The airport is small and quite functional but will quickly develop 'growing pains' as air traffic volumes grow. With just three 'wide bodied' flights leaving within 45 minutes of each other on my recent return transit the departures area was absolutely choked with people. The facilities simply can't cope with too many flights at once. When quieter its fine and comfortable enough. One real plus is (for those travelling between MRU and Reunion) is that seat allocation and boarding passes are ready to go as soon as you approach the transit desk which I thought was very efficient and to be commended.