Many countries, including France, have suspended their air links to southern African countries, in the wake of the announcement of the discovery of a new variant of Covid-19, the Omicron variant.
“The biggest part of all this, for me, it remains the lack of news from our country “exclaims Constance, originally from Grimaud in the Var. She is stranded in South Africa where since Friday November 26, like her, many French people have not been able to return home. Constance left for South Africa on November 12 to volunteer in schools across the country. At the end of her mission, she wanted to return home the weekend of November 27 and 28, but it was impossible. Flights are canceled. THEhe plane she was supposed to take left for France without a passenger on board, only the crew were able to make the return trip. “We thought it was a repatriation flight where only the French were going to be able to board. It seemed logical to me. However, to launch an empty plane, it is not logical! The more we leave the French there, the more we have likely to be contaminated “, she protests.
She and her group of friends have been sleeping at the hotel for four days, at their expense. They say they have no news from the French authorities. “We don’t exist and I find that lamentable. I have never seen that in my life, that is to say that we saw the news concerning Germany, England, all nationals, could return to their countries, except us “, says Constance, who claims to have tried everything. “We tried to find flights that went through other countries, Ethiopia, Dubai … But it was impossible. And then someone from the French consulate came to tell us that we could not go home. because all countries had closed their doors to travelers from South Africa. ” The French ended up being able to book a flight last Monday for Wednesday, December 1, but this flight was canceled within hours.
“They didn’t know when they were going to put the flights back in place, they couldn’t tell us anything.”
Constance, Frenchwoman stranded in South Africato franceinfo
Faced with questions from the group of friends, the French consulate in South Africa sent them an email to tell them that “repatriation flights to France were premature”. “We are waiting. We have been in the dark since Friday, November 26 at 11 am. It blows my mind. Our bank account is not unlimited. We are young French people between 22 and 28 years old. We do not have the money at all. money to pay hotel costs, food, travel in the city. It’s a hassle “, she laments.
Asked by franceinfo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not give any answers concerning the establishment or not of special flights to repatriate these French people. “We all have obligations at home and then our parents start to worry”, she concludes, annoyed and angry.
France extended the suspension of flights from seven southern African countries on Wednesday 1 December until Saturday 4 December.
Constance, a French woman stranded in South Africa because of the Omicron variant
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