Air France to wet-lease A320 from SmartLynx Estonia

Flights remain suspended as Mali threatens to revoke slots

Air France (AF, Paris CDG) says its flights to Bamako, Mali remain suspended after the country closed its borders earlier this month in protest against sanctions imposed against its military rulers by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

An Air France spokesperson confirmed to ch-aviation that there was no change to the situation at this stage. “Air France flights remain suspended,” he said. He was responding to a query following news reports from Mali and Burkina Faso that the French national carrier had renegotiated direct flights between Paris CDG and Bamako to circumvent the ECOWAS sanctions. Flights to Bamako with stopovers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, and Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l, Senegal would be excluded from Air France's flight plans until the sanctions were lifted, the reports said.

This follows after Mali’s transport and infrastructure minister, Madina Sissoko Dembele, told airlines serving Mali to confirm within 72 hours from January 15 if they plan to continue...

Airlines divert, cancel flights after Mali closes borders

Amid rising tension in the region, several airlines have suspended their flights to Mali after the country closed its borders on January 10 in protest against sanctions imposed against its military rulers by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

The sanctions followed the Malian military junta's decision to push back elections until 2025 after having toppled the government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020 and having staged a de-facto coup in May 2021 against an interim civilian administration.

Following the border closures, Mauritania Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and Air France on January 10 diverted several flights destined for Bamako, according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data. Mauritania Airlines diverted at least three flights from Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l, Abidjan, and Cotonou, respectively. The airline, in a statement, announced it had suspended its direct flights between Bamako and other capitals of ECOWAS countries.

Air France diverted a flight from Banjul to Dakar and cancelled flights from Monrovia Roberts and...

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