Mali maintains the suspension of Air France flights and dismisses its head of civil aviation | AIB

2023-10-11 16:42:48
FILE PHOTO: An Air France Airbus A350 airplane lands at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy, near Paris, France April 2, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

Mali maintains the suspension of Air France flights and dismisses its head of civil aviation

Ouagadougou, October 11, 2023 (AIB) – The Malian authorities decided to cancel on Wednesday the authorization given to Air France to resume services to Mali, and also thanked the head of civil aviation for not having consulted the hierarchy, reports AFP.

“The decision was canceled because the agreement was given without consulting the hierarchy,” said a senior Malian official.

Air France announced on Tuesday that it would resume serving Mali from Friday with a plane and crews from a third company after two months of suspension in a context of tensions in the Sahel and between Bamako and Paris.

The director of civil aviation in Mali was dismissed, said this official without saying exactly what he was accused of.

The three officials spoke on condition of anonymity in the absence of public communication from the authorities.

“There will be no Air France flight on Friday. This must be done in a responsible and coordinated manner, all while respecting our sovereignty,” said a second official.

An air transport player confirmed that “the authorization has been cancelled”, without further details. “It is clear that flights will not resume on Friday,” he said.

On August 7, Air France suspended its flights to Mali (7 flights per week) and Burkina Faso (5 flights per week) after the closure of the airspace of neighboring Niger, the scene of a coup d’état on August 7. July 26. The company cited the geopolitical situation in the Sahel.

The region plagued by terrorism and violence has experienced a succession of military coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, in Burkina in 2022 and in Niger in 2023. Relations between France, the former colonial power engaged militarily in the region, and the officers now at the head of these three countries have deteriorated significantly.

Malian authorities canceled Air France’s authorization after the company suspended its flights.

Air France announced on Tuesday that it would resume service to Bamako from Paris-Charles de Gaulle at the rate of three direct flights per week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The connection was no longer to be operated with planes from the company, but a Boeing 777-200 ER from the Portuguese company EuroAtlantic Airways and with employees of this company to constitute the crew.

An official close to the matter explained the choice of a third-party company and crews by the fact that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs “formally” advised French people not to go to Mali, including aircrew, due to the security situation.

Forced to bring back its soldiers, its ambassadors and part of the diplomatic staff, faced with hostile demonstrations and attacks against its representations, in August France extended the classification in the “red zone” to the capitals of these three countries, the last islets where she did not formally advise against surrendering.

AIB with AFP