Travel ban: Air France resumes South Africa flights

Air France has confirmed that flights between Paris and Johannesburg and Cape Town are to resume and will operate on schedule this December.

The lifting of the travel ban comes after the airline suspended flights to travellers from Southern African countries due to the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Flights will operate according to the schedules below:

Johannesburg, with effect from 4 December 2021

Departure day	Flight No.	Route	Departure time (local time)	Arrival time (local time)
Daily, except Monday	AF990	CDG-JNB	23:35	11:15
Daily, except Tuesday	AF995	JNB-CDG	19:50	05:45

Cape Town, with effect from December 6, 2021

Departure day	Flight No.	Route	Departure time (local time)	Arrival time (local time)
Tuesday, Friday, Sunday	AF868	CDG-CPT	10:10	22:30
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday	AF871	CPT-CDG	00:40	11:15

According to the French state, the lifting is subject to the application of a new set of sanitary protocols.

Regardless of vaccination status, all travellers from South Africa:

• Are subject to the regime of compelling reasons, the list of which is specified in the travel certificate established by the Ministry of the Interior;
• Must present, upon boarding, the negative result of a PCR test conducted less than 48 hours prior or an antigen test (TAG) carried out less than 24 hours before the flight;
• Will be subject to a mandatory test on arrival;
• Will have to undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine, controlled by the security forces.

“It is important to note that the above new requirements apply to passengers with France as a final destination. Transfer passengers must check the entry and exit requirements applicable to their journey on Air France’s TravelDoc website and/or contact the relevant authorities of the country of their final destination,” the airline noted.

Air France says as part of its commercial policy, it currently offers fully modifiable tickets for all bookings up to 30 June 2022.

“Customers can change their reservation at no cost or obtain a refundable credit voucher if they no longer wish to travel,” the airline said.

“If the flight is cancelled by the airline, the customer can choose to postpone their trip, request a full ticket refund, or receive a credit voucher, which is also refundable if not used.”

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The airline added that as a safety precaution, wearing a surgical mask on board, in the aircraft and throughout the duration of the trip is compulsory.

“The air in the cabin is renewed every three minutes. The air recycling system on board Air France aircraft is equipped with HEPA – High Efficiency Particulate Air – filters identical to those used in hospital operating theatres,” the airline said.

“Air France has also reinforced aircraft cleaning procedures, notably with the disinfection of all surfaces in contact with customers such as armrests, tables and screens before each flight.”

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This article first appeared on Moneyweb and was republished with permission. Read the original article here.