Air France suspends Red Sea flight path after 'luminous object' sighted near Sudan

Air France has suspended flight paths over Red Sea area as a precautionary measure "until further notice" after cabin crew reported seeing a "luminous object" while flying over Sudan. In a statement released on Sunday, Air France confirmed "as a precautionary measure, it has decided to suspend overflight of the Red Sea area until further notice." "This decision follows the observation by a crew of a luminous object at high altitude in the Sudan area," it added. The French national carrier said that the itinerary of some of its flights had been changed and that some aircraft had turned around and returned to land at their departure airport. Flights between Paris and the Indian Ocean territories of Reunion Island and Mauritius reportedly operated as normal, having their itinerary changed and extending their flight time, the French airline said. However, two flights that had taken off to Kenya and Madagascar returned to Paris. The airline has said they will depart again "as soon as possible".<br/>