Cameroon Will Resume Flights To France With Borrowed Jet

Air France will soon resume flights to the Cameroonian cities of Douala and Yaounde after a three-day suspension in service that stemmed in part from a ban on that nation's airline from flying into France, according to media reports.

"In the light of developments in the situation, Air France has decided to resume flights to Cameroon," an Air France spokeswoman said. "Because of technical constraints, Air France will resume its daily flights between Paris-Charles De Gaulle-Douala on Monday."

Cameroon Airlines was placed on a safety "blacklist" by the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) last Friday, after checks conducted earlier this year on its aircraft had found "numerous lapses from international norms" with that airline's practices. Failures to abide by loading limits and in the transport of dangerous goods, and lack of suitable navigational information, were among discrepancies cited by DGAC.

A Cameroon aviation trade union representative had threatened unspecified action against Air France unless DGAC reversed Friday's decision. Those threats may have played a part in the Air France decision to suspend service to Cameroon; the French carrier officially cited lack of proper ground assistance services at the airport in Douala as the reason for the suspension.

In turn, Cameroon Airlines was allowed to resume service into France on Sunday, using a plane from upstart charter company Air Italy.

Had the French ban on Cameroon Airlines not been rescinded, it may have dealt a crippling blow to the indebted airline, which serves one of the poorest countries in Africa. The four-times-a-week flight from Douala to Paris is Cameroon's strongest link to Europe.

Cameroon Airlines was allowed to resume service into France on Sunday, using a plane from upstart charter company Air Italy. The airline will also support an independent audit of its operations, and will work to implement any recommendations from such an audit.

As was earlier reported by Aero-News, the European Union has pushed for its member nations to issue blacklists on all carriers that fail to meet minimum safety requirements. Although the EU suggested banning such carriers last year, the movement gathered strength after a series of major airline accidents last month worldwide.

FMI: Air France Website, Cameroon Airlines Website (French)