Air France announces that it will restore its service to Mali on Friday, after two months of suspension

Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credits: Artur Widak / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP 17:51 p.m., October 10, 2023

Air France will resume serving Mali from Friday, the airline announced Tuesday, which had suspended this route in early August in the wake of the putsch in neighboring Niger. "In coordination with the French DGAC (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and the Malian authorities, Air France will resume service to Bamako from Paris-Charles de Gaulle from October 13, 2023," a spokesman for the company told AFP.

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Service to Bamako from Paris will resume at the rate of three direct flights per week

Air France had suspended its flights to Mali (seven flights per week) and Burkina Faso (five flights per week) on 7 August after the closure of the airspace of neighbouring Niger, the scene of a coup d'état on 26 July. "Air France is working closely with the Burkinabe authorities to resume its service to Burkina Faso as soon as possible. The service to Niamey (Niger) remains suspended until further notice," the company added on Tuesday.

Service to Bamako from Paris will resume at the rate of "three direct flights per week (on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays)", according to the same source. In addition, the flights sold by Air France will no longer be operated by aircraft of the company, but by "a Boeing 777-200 ER of the Portuguese company EuroAtlantic Airways", specialized in the rental of aircraft to third companies, said Air France.

The company promised that the aircraft met "all French and European regulations" and explained that it was "equipped with 30 seats in the Business cabin, 24 seats in the Premium Economy cabin and 239 in the Economy cabin". "The services provided on board will be the same as on flights operated by Air France. Customers whose flights are cancelled will be rescheduled to the maintained flights or will be able to modify the reservation offered to them free of charge," according to the same source.

'Notorious breach'

After the suspension of Paris-Bamako routes by Air France, the Malian authorities decided on August 11 to cancel the company's authorization to operate this route. The authorities, whose military leaders have expressed solidarity with Niger's coup plotters, described the suspension as a "notorious breach" under the terms of the company's operating permit. Relations between France, the former colonial power that had been militarily engaged alongside the Malian army against jihadists since 2013, and Mali have deteriorated sharply since colonels seized power by force in Bamako in August 2020.

The junta pushed French forces out in 2022 and turned politically and militarily to Russia. She expelled the French ambassador. "Air France is constantly monitoring the evolution of the geopolitical situation of the territories served and flown over by its aircraft and recalls that the safety of its customers and crews is its top priority," concluded its spokesman on Tuesday.