THE French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that a “special flight” would be organized this Thursday by Air France For repatriate French people stranded in Israel.
The Quai d’Orsay specified in a press release that the flight would allow French nationals who wish to return to the national territory pending the resumption of regular commercial flights. Priority will be given to vulnerable people (unaccompanied minors, pregnant women), it is indicated.
“We are in constant contact with the families and my thoughts are with them. We are ensuring, in conjunction with Air France, that flights (regular, editor’s note) can resume as quickly as possible.“, added for her part the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, during the question session to the government in the National Assembly yesterday. Like a majority of airlines, Air France, which normally operated two flights per day, suspended “until further notice” serving Tel Aviv following the surprise attack launched by Hamas on Saturday morning on Israeli territory.
According to the Israeli continuous news channel i24Newsmore than 1,000 French tourists reportedly stranded in Israel after their flights were canceled. The rare flights that manage to leave the country are full, and the available seats are immediately taken by storm. And according to the French consulate in Jerusalem, the situation is alarming for certain French nationals. Particularly worrying situations include people requiring dialysis, others deprived of life-saving medications, traumatized children and tourists without financial resources to support themselves.
