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Flights to the Maghreb open for booking but not yet confirmed (photo: F.Dubessy)
MAGHREB / FRANCE. As Air France prepares to strengthen its domestic routes, the airline has announced the resumption of bookings for Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from June 2020.
Faced with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic - and mainly the decision of the Maghreb countries to suspend all international flights - the airline is currently only operating 5% of its usual schedule and its subsidiary HOP! is not flying until further notice. The Air France/KLM group, which has just obtained €7 billion in aid from the French government (a €3 billion loan plus €4 billion in bank loans 90% guaranteed by the government) and €2 to 4 billion from the Dutch government, wants to increase its traffic to 30% by July 2020.
It will start on 11 May 2020, the date of the start of deconfliction in France, by increasing its rotations between Paris and the airports of Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, the only hubs currently served regularly (with the exception of repatriation flights for French nationals stranded abroad - 270,000 passengers, 155,000 of whom are French nationals already repatriated). And it is only in June, or even July, that other destinations should be offered, both domestic (Rennes, Montpellier and Brest) and international. "The flight programme will then be progressively enriched for the 2020 summer season", states an Air France press release.
Faced with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic - and mainly the decision of the Maghreb countries to suspend all international flights - the airline is currently only operating 5% of its usual schedule and its subsidiary HOP! is not flying until further notice. The Air France/KLM group, which has just obtained €7 billion in aid from the French government (a €3 billion loan plus €4 billion in bank loans 90% guaranteed by the government) and €2 to 4 billion from the Dutch government, wants to increase its traffic to 30% by July 2020.
It will start on 11 May 2020, the date of the start of deconfliction in France, by increasing its rotations between Paris and the airports of Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, the only hubs currently served regularly (with the exception of repatriation flights for French nationals stranded abroad - 270,000 passengers, 155,000 of whom are French nationals already repatriated). And it is only in June, or even July, that other destinations should be offered, both domestic (Rennes, Montpellier and Brest) and international. "The flight programme will then be progressively enriched for the 2020 summer season", states an Air France press release.
Flights available on 1 June
Bookings for flights to the Maghreb are now open. The first available flight is a Paris Charles de Gaulle - Algiers flight from 1 June 2020 as indicated on the airline's website. Six rotations are planned with departures from the French capital scheduled from 7.05am, for the first, to 10.55pm, for the last. Returns are also bookable from 1 June 2020 with six flights and departures spread out from 5.30am to 6.50pm. No direct flights are offered from other French cities.
On the same date, it is possible to book a ticket for Morocco (4 flights Paris/Casablanca).
However, all these booking possibilities remain purely theoretical. Flights will only be able to resume if the borders are opened and travel restrictions are lifted in France and in the countries concerned. Air France even indicates in a press release that this will also depend on "the reservations of its customers".
On the same date, it is possible to book a ticket for Morocco (4 flights Paris/Casablanca).
However, all these booking possibilities remain purely theoretical. Flights will only be able to resume if the borders are opened and travel restrictions are lifted in France and in the countries concerned. Air France even indicates in a press release that this will also depend on "the reservations of its customers".
