Mauritius does not have any testing facilities and the ATF samples are being sent to South Africa for this purpose. However, the process involves three to five days of lead time before test reports are received, causing both delay and operational constraints to the airlines.

According to Marwaha, IOC will set up a state-of-the-art quality control lab which will facilitate re-certification/full specification tests of all aviation fuels in the first phase and complete specification tests for all fuels including non-aviation fuels in the second phase. The quality control lab will be set up in the next six to eight weeks. The lab will be manned by a certified quality control expert, Marwaha said.

The IOC delegation also held discussions with the Airport of Mauritius and identified a suitable location at the SSR international airport to house this important laboratory. Apart from routine tests, the IOC laboratory will also handle complex recertification and full specification tests.