Air France suspends flights over the Red Sea area “until further notice” due to a “luminous object at high altitude”

Air France evokes a “precautionary principle”. The airline announced on Sunday that it was suspending “until further notice flights over the Red Sea area”, which separates eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

A decision which follows “the suspicion of observation by a crew of a luminous object at high altitude in the Sudan area”, she indicates on X.

The suspension of flights has led to a change in certain routes. “Depending on their location, certain aircraft were able to turn around and return to land at their departure airport, such as flight AF934 linking Paris to Antananarivo,” Air France further specifies.

Data from the specialized site FlightRadar24 confirms that the plane turned around off the Egyptian coast.

The airline responded to the report of several Internet users on the social network, who reported an “abnormal” situation in the African sky and who reported several flight postponements.

“The company constantly monitors the evolution of the geopolitical situation in the territories served and overflown by its aircraft in order to ensure the highest level of safety and flight security,” recalls Air France.

The airline notably announced on Wednesday the extension of the suspension of its flights to Tel Aviv until November 5 inclusive “due to the security situation” and recalled that its connections to Beirut remained suspended until November 30 inclusive.