Saturday July 4, 2009
Comoros crash airline suspends Paris flights
PARIS (Reuters) - The operator of a Yemeni aircraft that crashed into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros islands this week has suspended flights from Paris, a spokeswoman for Aeroports de Paris, the Paris airports operator, said on Friday.
The spokeswoman said the airports operator had received a letter from the carrier Yemenia earlier on Friday, informing it of the decision to suspend the flights.
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Rescuers return after searching for the missing Yemenia Airbus 310-300 airplane, that crashed in Mitsamiouli, 30 km north of Comoros' capital Moroni July 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya) |
"They didn't give a reason, they just said until further notice the flights were cancelled," she said.
No comment was immediately available from Yemenia's Paris office.
Yemenia, which has already suspended flights from the southern French city of Marseille, has faced furious protests from expatriate Comorans in France that its aircraft are dirty and badly maintained.
Only one survivor was found after the accident, in which an Airbus A310-300 with 153 people on board plunged into the sea as it came in to land at Moroni, the Comoran capital.
The aircraft had taken off from the Yemeni capital Sanaa, but many of the passengers had come from France aboard an Airbus A330 which flew the Paris-Marseille-Yemen leg of the flight.
With a population of around 800,000, the formerly French-ruled Comoros archipelago comprises three islands off mainland east Africa and northwest of Madagascar. There is a large expatriate community in France.
Comorans have long complained about the standard of flights from France to the Comoros islands and groups of protesters have blockaded Yemenia flight desks in Marseille and Paris since the accident, preventing some flights from taking off.
The airline has come under scrutiny from authorities in Europe over air safety issues.
France had banned the A310 that crashed from its territory in 2007 after faults were found with it and European Union authorities wrote to Yemenia on Wednesday saying it faced a ban in the EU unless it gave assurances over recurring problems.
Separately, the French government appointed an official as special ambassador to help the families of French victims of the crash and those who had been living in France.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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