Please do not show again Close
Wednesday, November 25, 2009  | 
select country C
 
select country

BREAKING NEWS | Iran seeks guarantees to ship nuke fuel
EUR | GBP Up 1.110 ,  USD | EUR Up 0.670 ,  USD | GBP Up 0.604

Yemenia suspends all Comoros flights

Yemenia is suspending all flights to the Comoros in the aftermath of Tuesday's crash of an Airbus A310 near the islands' capital Moroni in which 153 died, the airline said Saturday.

"In light of serious incidents in recent days and major risks that some passengers posed to airport staff, our company and passengers, Yemenia has decided to no longer serve Moroni for an indefinite period from July 3 until the situation eases," it said in a statement.

Yemenia's lawyer in France, Laurent-Franck Lienard, told news agency AFP that only flights to Moroni were affected, and that the airline would continue to fly to other destinations - including Paris-Sanaa, Paris-Kuala Lumpur and Paris-Jakarta - as normal.

Since the crash, in which a 12-year-old girl was the only survivor, members of the Comoran community in France have been up in arms over the condition of the Airbus that Yemenia used on its Moroni service.

They have notably blocked check-in desks in Paris and Marseille for Yemenia flights to Moroni, prompting the airline on Thursday to suspend services from Marseille - home to a large Comoran expatriate community.

In a separate development Saturday, Frence Prime Minister Francois Fillon tasked a former French ambassador to Sudan, Christine Robichon, to help the families of those killed in the crash.

In a statement, he said Robichon would act as a go-between between the families and relevant agencies, and also oversee "good cooperation" between Comorans, Yemeni officials and Yemenia airlines.

In its statement, Yemenia said it "shares the pain of families who lost loved ones in this tragic accident" as it strives to pass along information and swiftly pay out "provisional compensation".

But it lamented what it called "irrational" demonstrations and "unacceptable violence" which were compromising the airline's ability to deal with the disaster.

"These displays of violence and serious threats are aimed at preventing the airline from continuing its service to the Comoros," it said.

"They risk leading to a new tragedy, on the ground or in the air, which Yemenia has a duty to prevent."

To passengers holding tickets for suspended flights, Yemenia "pledges that all tickets for flights to Moroni will be refunded in full".


To keep updated with the very latest news sign up to the Maktoob Business newsletter now.
AFP
User Comments
Add Your Comment
Name:
Email:
City:
Code:
Comments:
0 of 1000
 


Email Alerts
Subscribe to company alerts.
Yemenia Airways
 
RSS Feeds

The latest news straight to your inbox twice daily.
Ranking
Yemenia Airways
186th most read about company
152nd most written about company
154th most discussed company
54th most emailed about company
Saudi Telecom in spat over free call offer
11/24/2009 12:45:53 PM
2 | |
Saudi Regulator this is wrong move. I appreciate the Offer Saud Telecom Offer to its customers.this all available in Europe, only in Middle East countries where offers are banned. They... MORE
Saudi Telecom in spat over free call offer
11/24/2009 11:29:21 AM
2 | |
You didn't give the whole story-just last week-GO (Etihad Atheeb Telecom Consortium) launched fixed line voice services as the second fixed line operator in KSA. STC is feeling the heat and... MORE
Emirates NBD replaces board member Al Futtaim
11/24/2009 8:28:25 AM
2 | |
High time boards in the region took action against lazy and irresponsible directors who collect board seats like trophies for the inside information they can glean from the position. Many... MORE