In August 2010, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, the Comoros, Réunion, and Mayotte united under the brand "Vanilla Islands" to promote tourism to the entire region.

[4][8] It was determined that the current business model of the airlines was unsustainable and that ticket prices for regional air travel were too high, compared to intra-Europe and intra-Caribbean fares.

In January 2014, the Commission published a plea entitled "Wings of the Indian Ocean", in which it called for a joint strategy on regional air transport and noted the economic benefits it would have.

[8][9] The IOC held another conference in July 2014 on tourism and air travel, after which a committee of airline officials and another of civil aviation authorities were created to form the alliance.

The signing was attended by Secretary General Jean-Claude de l'Estrac of the Indian Ocean Commission and Malagasy president Hery Rajaonarimampianina.