“There are no more flights. » From Niamey, the capital of Niger, where he remained, despite the evacuation of the French following the putsch against President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, Dominique (the first name has been changed) confirms the absence of commercial aircraft since Sunday August 6th. That day, faced with the threat of an air intervention from neighboring states, the junta took the decision to close the country’s airspace. “We hoped that it would remain open for the five neighboring countries as before, but no. So we are waiting”says this same French expatriate, who still counted, Monday evening, to be able to take an Air Algeria flight in order to return.
If it hinders the movement of travelers on the spot, this situation is already causing complications for airlines that go well beyond Niger. This ban comes in addition to the one that already prevailed for the overflight of Libya and Sudan, which makes more than half of the Sahelian sky impassable for them.
In the rush, on Sunday, Air France, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, or Turkish Airlines, among others, had to cancel flights, delay them, even divert them in order to be able to fill up with fuel necessary for the extension of the duration of certain flights. On six of them, the hexagonal company, which serves thirty-three destinations on the African continent, for example had to turn around in mid-flight in order to refuel kerosene. The one who made the connection between Nairobi, in Kenya, and Paris – Charles-de-Gaulle was thus diverted to Casablanca, in Morocco, to restock.
Air France has also suspended its flights to Bamako (Mali) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) until Friday August 11 inclusive, these two countries being dominated by military regimes which have shown solidarity with the junta in Niger. “Flights will operate non-stop between Accra (Ghana) and Paris – Charles-de-Gaulle”the company said.
Hour by hour tracking
Since Monday, these companies have been trying to adapt, but the consequences, if this situation were to continue, could be unfortunate in terms of organization, deadlines and additional costs. Especially since they are already penalized by the closure of Ukrainian and Russian airspace on their flights between Europe and Asia. “In total, 37% of flights last more than eight hours, 14% more than before the pandemic”detailed a study by the European Travel Commission published in May, which noted the loss of market share of Western companies in these destinations to the benefit of their Chinese rivals.
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