The next few weeks will be particularly difficult for airlines flying to French airports. The government requires the airlines to check the passengers' negative Covid-19 test results before departure. In extreme cases, if the order is disregarded, a flight ban will be issued.

And it hit a first carrier at the end of January 2020: Ethiopian Airlines. The authorities accused him that the PCR test results were not checked before departure. The African airline was issued a flight ban between January 28, 2021 and January 31, 2021.

The Deputy Minister for Europe, Clément Beaune, made an unmistakable announcement to the airlines on French radio. They are emphatically instructed to check the PCR results and if they are disregarded, the airlines will be held responsible. This expressly includes both temporary and permanent flight bans for France.

Beaune makes serious accusations not only to foreign, but also to French airlines. The background to this is that the police have uncovered that criminals carried out a real wholesale business with falsified PCR results. The member of the government takes the view that the airlines should have recognized this and refused boarding to the people. But the politician did not say how a simple airline or airport employee could have identified a “fake finding”.

And France's Deputy Minister for Europe even adds an obligation: “Avoidable trips should be avoided. The airlines have to ask why the trip is unavoidable and in the next few weeks should only carry passengers who cannot be postponed ”. The government currently only allows entry from the non-EU area if there are special reasons. This does not apply to residents of the country, for example, who can enter the country at any time for the purpose of returning home, but with quarantine if necessary.

Clément Beaune also makes no secret of the fact that he believes that numerous flights will have to be banned in the next few weeks due to violations of government orders. The authorities would be instructed to act tough.