While French flag carrier Air France once ran daily flights between Paris and the Mali capital of Bamako, this route was suspended indefinitely in 2023 after France did not recognize the military coup that ousted elected President Mohamed Bazoum two years earlier and subsequent centralization of power that expanded the power of the military and ousted United Nations observers from the country.

With no changes since Mali banned French aircraft from its airspace in retaliation for removing military troops and suspending military cooperation in 2023, Air France is now permanently closing its base in Modibo Keita International Airport (BKO) in Bamako.

“Air France’s local office will cease operations with effect from 30 June, 2026,” a document first reported by French and African press reads without elaborating on the reasons for the closure.

Air France permanently shutters base in Mali after 2023 suspension of flights

Air France had once been running a Boeing 777-200ER plane with capacity for up to 312 passengers between Bamako and Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) daily. After the suspension in August 2023, the airline initially presented the stop in service as temporary and planned a gradual resumption by the start of 2024.

But the Malian government that came in by military coup has remained in power and Air France remains unable to fly into the country. The only airline that had been linking France and Mali over the last three years was French carrier Corsair but it also recently announced that it will be suspending its “flights to and from Bamako until 26 June 2026 inclusive.”

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The airline and subsidiary of the larger German TUI Group had previously been granted an exception to the airspace ban but cited the “current geopolitical situation in Mali” and need to protect “the safety of our passengers and staff” amid a string of recent attacks on the capital as the reason for suspending service.

Air France, meanwhile, has also not run any flights to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Niamey in Niger after a separate coup in the latter country in 2023.

Air France has been banned from flying into Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger since 2023.

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Why French planes are blocked from flying into three African countries

While flights to these cities once offered a critical link between Europe and West Africa as well as members of their diasporas living in France, the military junta governments in both countries have continued to block French aircraft from flying in.

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The document announcing the closure of the Bamako base was signed by Air France’s Country Manager for Mali Traoré Diakité and states that any assistance with flying out of the country will need to go through the online portal Help Desk AGV.

Exiting Mali by either air or land remains highly difficult with very few international airlines operating in the country and many land crossings blocked by rebels and subject to regular attacks. Airlines that currently offer limited service out of Modibo Keita International to other African capitals include Ethiopian Airlines, Air Côte d’Ivoire, Air Senegal and Royal Air Maroc.

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