Airport illustration.

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NICOLAS MESSYASZ / SIPA

Paris airports are preparing on Sunday for checks, from midnight, of departures to countries outside the European Union, subject to a "compelling reason" under new rules aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Friday evening the ban on any entry into France or exit from the national territory from or to a country located outside the EU.

With this new tightening of the sanitary screw, the government hopes to curb the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic and thus avoid a new containment.

"There won't be many people left"

“What will change concretely is the control of departing passengers.

People will not be able to go on leisure trips, for example to Punta Cana [in the Dominican Republic], the West Indies or to go with family to Africa, ”said an airport source.

“All departures to major international flights will be controlled.

There will not be many people left, only those who have something urgent, ”added this source, specifying that these rules will come into force on Sunday at midnight.

The first flights concerned will take off in the early hours of Monday.

Passengers wishing to leave the European Union from France must bring a certificate certifying that their trip meets an overriding reason, which may be family, health or professional.

Additional documents may be requested to prove this ground.

Travel certificate required

The verification will be carried out according to a double curtain: "there will be checks by airlines, coupled with border police checks," said another airport source.

Air carriers will not be able to check in a passenger if they do not have their travel certificate.

On the Air France side, these new measures have been implemented since Sunday and customers have been informed.

"In coordination with the authorities, the personnel of the company or its representatives at the airport ensure that passengers have all the documents required by the new regulations," the airline said in a statement.

Limit the circulation of new variants of the virus

By restricting international travel, the French authorities hope to prevent additional contamination but also to limit the circulation of new variants of the virus, likely to aggravate the pandemic.

Despite the stalling of global air traffic, "Roissy and Orly still represent roughly a million passengers per month, so that can have an impact on the epidemic", estimated the first airport source.

As of Tuesday, a compelling reason will also be necessary to travel to Guadeloupe and Martinique.

A first case of the English variant of Covid-19 was discovered this week in Martinique, announced the Regional Health Agency.

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