Madagascar: The country restricts its sky to European and Russian flights due to Covid-19

A note of the civil aviation of Madagascar (ACM), published Thursday evening, prohibits from now on the embarkation towards the Big Island of passengers coming from nine countries of the European continent (Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Ukraine) as well as from Russia.
It is therefore the flights to the island of Nosy Be which are the main concerned by this boarding ban since commercial flights are not allowed to resume, and the last repatriation flight to Madagascar will take place on November 1st, in accordance with what was announced by the President of the Republic last Sunday.
The Malagasy president had then extended the closure of the borders for an indefinite period, with the exception of the sky of the island of Nosy Be, open since October 1st for the resumption of tourism.
“We don’t want the coronavirus to return to Madagascar, justifies Joël Randriamaranto, Minister of Tourism. The countries mentioned are all undergoing a second wave of pandemic. It is a list which is of course brought to evolve taking into account the sanitary situation”, he still specifies.
On Thursday evening in Paris, 24 passengers of Air Austral who were leaving for Nosy Be via Reunion Island were unable to board, having been warned at the last moment of this ban.
A diplomatic source deplores the lack of information and prior consultation on the reasons for this classification and its scope.