France: Ethiopian Airlines receives 4-day suspension for non-compliance with PCR tests on arrival
Since January 18, France has asked all third country passengers to present a negative RT-PCR test less than 72 hours ago before entering its territory. Airlines are required to check their tests before boarding a traveler.
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) flights to France have been suspended since Thursday, January 28th and up to and including Sunday, January 31st. In a press release released the day before, the French Ministry of Ecological Change criticized the Ethiopian national airline for its ease of checking negative PCR tests on passengers flying to France.
“Since implementing these measures, several deficiencies have been identified on the arrival of Ethiopian Airlines flights in France. Ethiopian Airlines officials were asked to place an order by the Civil Aviation Directorate-General on Tuesday, January 26th. After the new shortcomings identified today (Wednesday, January 28, editor's note), the state has decided to suspend the company's flights,”says the ministerial department. As of January 18, all third country passengers traveling to France are required to present a negative RT-PCR test less than 72 hours ago.
This is part of the border health efforts that have been put in place to fight Covid-19. To do this, airlines must verify that every passenger on board has a document that confirms a negative PCR test. As a rule, ETH offers 1 daily flight to Paris and 3 weekly connections to Marseille (via Geneva, Switzerland). As a reminder, France is not the first country to suspend Ethiopian Airlines routes due to coronavirus cases. In late 2020, China did this twice, festgestellt wurden, die seine Flüge unternommen hatten.
