Niger's Airspace Closure Forces Carriers to Extend Africa Flights and Implement Suspensions

European carriers are experiencing disruptions and suspending flights across Africa as Niger's junta closes its airspace, defying a deadline set by the West African regional bloc. This closure adds to the existing geopolitical disruptions in African airspace, resulting in longer flight times and detours for commercial flights between Europe and southern Africa. Air France has suspended flights to Burkina Faso and Mali, while Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines anticipate flight times to be one-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours longer for rerouted flights. British Airways apologized for the disruption and is working to minimize the impact on affected customers.