Indirect consequence of the war in the Middle East: 260 French tourists stranded in the Maldives are due to return to Paris on Friday March 6 thanks to an Air Austral charter flight chartered by several tour operators.
The war in the Middle East continues to have its effects well beyond the conflict zone. Several hundred French tourists found themselves stranded in recent days in the Maldives after the sudden closure of several airspaces in the Gulf, severely disrupting connections between Europe and the Indian Ocean.
According to Cirium, a company specializing in air transport data, the cancellation rate of flights in the Middle East still reached 43.4% on Thursday, even if a timid recovery in traffic is emerging in certain airports in the United Arab Emirates. Although several aircraft were able to take off again from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, other major connecting hubs such as Doha remain at a standstill, causing cascading effects on the major air routes connecting Europe, Asia and the Indian Ocean.
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Maldives dependent on Gulf hubs
An emblematic destination for long-distance travel for Europeans, the Maldives archipelago depends almost entirely on Gulf airlines for its connections with Europe, via the platforms of Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi. When these air corridors close or reduce, alternatives become rare.
When these air corridors close or reduce, alternatives become rare.
The military escalation in the region thus caused the cancellation of numerous rotations. In Malé, thousands of international travelers found themselves stranded for several days, waiting for a return solution.
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A charter flight chartered by French tour operators
In this context, several French tour operators have decided to organize an exceptional repatriation. At the instigation of SETO (Union of Tour-Operating Companies), a charter flight operated by Air Austral is scheduled to take off from Malé on Friday March 6 at 7 a.m. to land at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle around 2:50 p.m.
Around 260 French nationals must return to France. The operation was coordinated by several players in the sector, including Exotismes, Nautil (Oovatu and Tropicalement Vêtre), Kuoni, Club Med and Les Maisons des Voyages (Figaro Group).
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«The collective always wins“, underlines Pierre Cosentino, general director of the Nautil group, who participated in the coordination of the operation. The special flight was entirely organized and financed by the tour operators concerned, without a specific repatriation system put in place by the French authorities for travelers located outside the conflict zone.
The organization of this exceptional flight is the result of close cooperation between several tourism stakeholders.
Gonzague de Gélis, President of DERTOUR France
«In this type of situation, our absolute priority remains the safety and support of our travelers“, explains Gonzague de Gélis, president of DERTOUR France, parent company of Kuoni. The tour operator’s teams also indicate that they have covered additional nights of accommodation for their customers who remained on site while awaiting a return solution.
If some flights begin to resume in the region, the disruptions are expected to last several more days. Over the years, the Gulf has become an almost essential passage between Europe and Asia: when its hubs slow down, a large part of global air traffic immediately finds itself under tension.
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Flight canceled due to conflict in the Middle East: what to do if you are stranded?
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