After less than a year in the role, Air Mauritius CEO, Charles Cartier, has stepped down following his non-re-election to the Board of Directors.
Cartier was appointed in March 2024, succeeding Krešimir Kučko who resigned after just nine months amid a corruption investigation, as reported by Travel News.
In a statement, Air Mauritius announced that a managing committee with executive powers had been appointed to oversee operations until a new CEO was named. The committee comprises Kremchand Beegoo (Chairman), Suresh Seeballuck and Appalsamy Thomas.
Since taking office as Chairman of the Board of Air Mauritius, Beegoo has been outspoken on the airline’s financial struggles. Earlier this year, in a communication to the airline’s staff, he warned of imminent changes. Local newspaper, Le Mauricien, published extracts from the internal letter in which he stated that management would have to make “some urgent major decisions” to stabilise the airline’s finances.
The letter reads: “We cannot continue to work as a legacy airline, continually demanding state financial support. Asking the government for cash means we are taking money from the Mauritian public. We must ensure that public money does not continue to disappear into a black hole.” He also described the situation as “extremely grave” and stressed that the airline needed a cash injection in the form of equity rather than loans.
