Air France suspends flights over Red Sea after sighting of luminous object
Airline cites safety concerns after pilots report seeing unidentified object
Air France has announced the suspension of all flights over the Red Sea after a luminous object was reportedly sighted by the pilots of one of its planes on 3rd July.
The Airbus A380, which was flying from Paris to Mauritius had just climbed to 37,000 feet when the object was spotted at 2.45am Cairo local time (00.45am GMT).
The object was described as being white and round, with a diameter of approximately 10 metres.
The pilots reported that it was travelling at a very high speed, and was not visible on radar.
Air France has said that it is taking the reports very seriously, and has decided to suspend all flights over the Red Sea until further notice.
The airline has also asked the French Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) to investigate the incident.
The BEA is a government agency responsible for investigating air accidents and incidents in France.
It is not yet clear what the luminous object was, or whether it posed any risk to the aircraft.
The Red Sea is a busy waterway, and there have been a number of reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the area in recent years.
In 2020, the US Navy released footage of unidentified objects flying near US warships in the Pacific Ocean.
The Pentagon has since said that it does not know what the objects were.
The sighting of the luminous object by the Air France pilots is the latest in a series of similar incidents around the world.
In May, a British Airways pilot reported seeing a UFO over the Atlantic Ocean.
The pilot said that the object was travelling at a speed of 1,000mph, and was not visible on radar.
The sighting of UFOs is a controversial topic, and there is no scientific consensus on what they are.
Some people believe that UFOs are alien spacecraft, while others believe that they are natural phenomena, such as meteors or ball lightning.
The investigation into the sighting of the luminous object by the Air France pilots is ongoing.
The BEA has said that it will release a report on its findings when the investigation is complete.
