Air France flights: Airline suspends flights over Red Sea after crew see 'luminous object at high altitude' forcing plane to divert
Major airline Air France has suspended flights over the Red Sea after crew spotted a “luminous object at high altitude”.
Crew of an aircraft saw the "luminous object” as the plane passed near Sudan. Flight tracking data shows Air France flight 934 from Paris to Madagascar declared an emergency on Sunday (3 November) "due to a technical issue" and returned to Paris after changing course over the Red Sea.
Sudan is close to Houthi Rebels who have previously fired missiles at Israel. According to flight data site AirLive, Air France confirmed: "As a precautionary measure, it has decided to suspend overflight of the Red Sea area until further notice. This decision follows the suspicion of a crew observing a luminous object at high altitude in the Sudan area."
Madagascan politician Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko was on board the aircraft which turned around. He posted a status on Facebook saying a "missile" had missed a flight ahead of his.
He said: "The news about the Air France flight is correct, because I am on the flight. A Missile passed by a plane in front of us but it wasn't shot, that's the reason for returning to France. There was a missile plane in the air of Sudan today."
The Boeing Boeing 777-200ER departed from runway 08L at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 10.44am on Sunday but returned seven hours later after being diverted away from the Red Sea. In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Air France said: "As a precautionary measure, Air France has decided to suspend flights over the Red Sea area until further notice. As a result, the itinerary of some of its flights has been modified.
"Depending on their location, some aircraft may have turned around and returned to land at their departure airport, such as flight AF934 from Paris to Antananarivo. This decision follows the suspicion of observation by a crew of a luminous object at high altitude in the Sudan area.”
The airline added: "Air France reminds that the safety of its customers and crews is its absolute imperative. The company constantly monitors the evolution of the geopolitical situation of the territories served and overflown by its aircraft in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security of flights."