THE FIRST COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FROM MAURITIUS TO REUNION ISLAND: Mon Choisy whispers the exploit of Abdulla Currimjee

The article entitled “Mon Choisy where the filaos whisper”, which appeared in Le Mauricien of 12 October 2011, had a big omission when drawing the line about the first international flight to Mauritius in 1933.  It failed to mention that it was indeed a Mauritian, Mr Abdulla Currimjee, who chartered the first commercial flight from Mauritius to Reunion island.  
In our today’s world, marked by sophistication in transport, communication and technologies, the air trip of Abdulla Currimjee may appear a routine matter.  But in 1933 when the notion of human being flying was still remote or rather a magical imagination in the minds of Mauritians, the exploit of Abdulla Currimjee was indeed a milestone breaker which pulled a big crowd at Mon Choisy and stirred lots of curiosity.
The Currimjee family, who settled in Mauritius in 1884, invested heavily in the development of a solid business empire with commercial antennae in many countries  around the Indian Ocean.  In November 1933, the Currimjee’s commercial branch in Reunion island was confronted with an urgent problem requiring a rapid intervention from the head-office based in Mauritius.  Abdulla Currimjee, 28 years old, was pressed by time and he got the brilliant idea of flying to Reunion Island on 18 November 1933 and return back to Mauritius on 20 November 1933.  As time was precious, due to the absence of his brother who was overseas he could not be absent from Mauritius for long; he therefore asked Jean Hilly, the Pilot, to come over from Reunion and fly him there and  return back  to Mauritius over the week end so that his day-to-day business involvement remained undisturbed.  He was the only passenger in the twin-seater plane thus becoming the Mauritian pioneer for the commercial flight.  He spent 6,000 francs for this round trip, quite a big amount by the standard of that period.  Travelling by air was very risky at that time, as evidenced by several plane crashes.  The family members and the close collaborators had strongly advised Abdulla Currimjee not to risk his life in a mode of transport not yet experienced by the common citizens.  But Abdulla Currimjee, motivated by enterprising spirit, was thinking ahead of time.
Just like Abdulla Currimjee who made history at Mon Choisy by being the first commercial passenger to fly abroad, the Currimjee family has always ventured to be innovative and forward-looking.  In the field of communication, the Currimjee group had been the pioneer by starting the first mobile telephone in Mauritius.  The spirit of exploding the insularity and reinforcing connectivity with world seems to have always dominated the minds of the Currimjee.
assadbhuglah@hotmail.com