An Air France flight from Paris to Madagascar had to turn back after the crew spotted a “luminous object” at high altitude near Sudan. On board, Tim Vanhoutte, 52, from Boechout, recounted the frightening incident to our colleagues at HLN.
Flight AF934 took off from Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 10:45 a.m. towards Antananarivo. Shortly after flying over Egypt, the Boeing 777 turned around. According to Air France, the crew observed a “luminous object” at high altitude, but no additional details were given.
Panic in mid-flight: a passenger tries to open the plane door, “he had already lowered the safety mechanism and had both hands on the lever! ” (video)
Tim and his wife Kristina De Hert, on their way to a diving vacation, reported that three and a half hours after departure the pilot announced that they had to turn around. “He said he had no choice but to turn around because one or more missiles had passed our flight path, right in front of our plane or right in front of the plane flying in front of us. It was a real shock,” says Tim. Looking out the window, they saw another passenger plane turning around about 500 meters away.
Despite the concern, the passengers remained calm. The plane then dumped its excess fuel over Reims for a safe emergency landing in Paris.
Tim and his wife had to wait several hours before leaving for Madagascar at 10:30 p.m., this time via Saudi Arabia. They landed this morning, although one of their suitcases remained in Paris.
Due to the geopolitical situation, Air France has suspended its flights over the Red Sea. Another flight to Nairobi also turned back.
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