Air France announced that it has proactively suspended all over flights in the Red Sea zone “until further notice” on Sunday, Nov. 3, after crew members of the French airline reported observing a “luminous object” during a flight over Sudan.
According to a statement issued by Agence France-Presse (AFP) “Air France confirms that, as a precautionary measure, the company decided to suspend over flights in the Red Sea region until further notice.”
This decision on the part of the airline is directly affected by the fact that the Red Sea region is considered extremely dangerous due to both the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in 2023, and a series of Houthi rebel attacks on ships, linked to the war in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas.
Air France clarified that some of its flights had their routes altered, while a few were forced to turn back to their departure airports.
Flights AF 473 (Mauritius-Paris), AF 648 (Paris- La Réunion), and AF 470 (Paris-Mauritius) were rerouted, resulting in longer flight times. However, flights AF 934 (Paris-Antananarivo) and AF 814 (Paris-Nairobi) had to be canceled, with aircraft returning to Paris; with the airline informing that they will depart again when conditions allow it.
Air France emphasized that the safety of its crew and passengers is its absolute priority, adding that it continually monitors the geopolitical situation in regions it serves or over which its aircraft transit to ensure the highest levels of safety for its flights.
It should be noted that Air France is the only airline to have implemented such a precautionary measure, while the airspace in the region has not officially been closed.
