Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will offer a twice weekly service to Mauritius from London's Heathrow Airport in the future.

The airline said the new route would launch on October 28th this year. When its service from London to Kingston in Jamaica begins two days later, the airline will operate 30 services around the world.

Flights from London Heathrow and Mauritius will leave the UK on Fridays and Sundays and return from the island on Saturdays and Mondays. The route is due to be served by an Airbus A340-300 with 240 seats onboard.

The outbound flights from the UK on Fridays will depart at 20:00, and land in Mauritius at 12:00 local time the following day. On Sundays, flights take off at 17:05 and arrive at 09:05 the following morning.

Return journeys from the island are expected to depart at 14:00 and 12:50 local time. These flights will land in the UK at 22:25 and 21:15 respectively.

"I am really excited that Virgin Atlantic is to serve this beautiful island, our first entry into the Indian Ocean," said Andrew Fyfe, Virgin Atlantic's regional manager for the Middle East and Indian Ocean.

"The launch of these services will lead to increased competition, better value for money and quality of service."

The Lonely Planet describes Mauritius as "the most accessible island in the Indian Ocean". The guide adds that the island boasts "as much tropical paradise as Maui or Martinique"

hxseo/tony-2008