"European Airlines Face Complicated Routes Across Africa Due to Niger Coup"

Disruptions and flight suspensions have been reported by European carriers throughout the African continent on Monday, triggered by Niger's military government closing its airspace on Sunday.

The military government's decision comes as it prepares for a potential response from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which had issued a deadline for the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. Failure to comply could lead to the threat of military intervention. This closure of Niger's airspace adds to the existing geopolitical disruptions faced by some African countries like Libya and Sudan, causing flights to take significant detours of up to 1,000 km (620 miles).

According to Flightradar24, the closure of Niger's airspace substantially increases the area over which most commercial flights between Europe and southern Africa cannot operate. As a result, Air France announced the suspension of flights to and from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Bamako in Mali until August 11, anticipating longer flight times in the West African region.

Air France also expects longer flight times from sub-Saharan hub airports, although flights between Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Accra in Ghana are set to operate non-stop. Despite the disruptions, aviation analyst James Halstead believes that airlines will mostly find alternative routes, and the impact should be limited due to the relatively small number of African air connections.

Spokespeople for Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines mentioned that rerouted flights could experience an increase in flight times, ranging from one-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours longer.

In response to the situation, British Airways expressed its apologies to affected customers for the disruption to their journeys. The airline is working diligently to get them back on track as swiftly as possible, as stated in an emailed statement to Reuters news agency.