Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

BORDEAUX

Race to vaccinate in Bordeaux as rare variant detected

The city of Bordeaux in southwestern France will fast-track vaccinations for residents in one neighbourhood after nearly 50 people tested positive for a "very rare" variant of Covid-19, health authorities told AFP late Friday.

Published: 22 May 2021 11:47 CEST

Race to vaccinate in Bordeaux as rare variant detected

A woman is vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus at the new vaccination centre at the Parc des Expositions in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on April 8th, 2021. Philippe LOPEZ / AFP

All adult residents of the city’s northern Bacalan neighbourhood would be granted “unconditional” access to jabs, “this weekend or at worst early next week”, said Patrick Dehail, medical advisor to the regional health authority.

“We are working with the (health) ministry to obtain the extra doses required,” Dehail said, adding that the boosted local effort will then be expanded to the wider Bordeaux area.

“We are talking about a variant that has already been identified at the national level but which has been very rare until now,” he added.

At least 46 people have been infected with the variant in the Bordeaux neighbourhood, with mass testing launched Friday to track down further cases.

None of those infected so far have been hospitalised.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to book an appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine in France

Labelled VOC 20I/484Q, the strain is related to the British variant of Covid-19, but with an additional mutation.

This mutation, (E484K), is also carried by the South African and Brazilian variants and is suspected of reducing the immunity acquired by either a past infection or by some vaccines.

However, Dehail said there was as yet “no reason” to suggest that the variant is resistant to mRNA vaccines such as those made by Pfizer or Moderna, or that it causes a more serious form of Covid-19.

The variant has been detected in the northern Paris region as well as Bordeaux in southwest France.

In France as a whole, vaccinations have so far been limited to the over-50s, although people outside this age group can book unused slots advertised at short notice. All adults will be eligible for vaccinations in France from May 31st.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

What will happen to flights from Bordeaux airport after Ryanair leaves?

In May, low-cost airline Irish Ryanair announced it would close its base of operations in the French city of Bordeaux in November following a failure to find an agreement with the airport about fees.

“Due to increased costs we don’t have any financial alternative but to close our Bordeaux base in November,” the company’s commercial director Jason McGuinness said in a statement released in French at the time.

The airline has been operating flights to and from around 40 different destinations around Europe from Bordeaux-Merignac (BOD), which was as of 2023 the eighth busiest French airport with 6.6 million passengers each year.

How will Ryanair leaving impact the airport?

The loss of Bordeaux will make a large dent in the airport’s flight offerings.

According to air travel website Simple Flying, Ryanair had 138 weekly departures from Bordeaux as of May, which represented almost a quarter of the airport’s total weekly traffic.

Easyjet represented 30.9 percent of Bordeaux’s weekly flights, including flights to UK destinations such as Bristol, London, Manchester and Belfast.

Spanish low-cost airline Volotea offers 12 percent, and Air France follows with 11 percent.

The air travel website noted that the most popular “Ryanair destinations from BOD included Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL), London Stansted Airport (STN), Dublin Airport (DUB), Porto Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO), Seville Airport (SVQ), and Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK).”

READ MORE: Bordeaux mayor seeks to ban cruise ships from city centre

Will the airport be able to fill the gap left by Ryanair?

In July, Simon Dreschel, Chairman of the Board for BOD, told French regional news outlet, La Tribune Bordeaux that “[the airport] is looking for solid partners to carry out our strategic plans and to support us in our ambitions to transform the hub. We have around 30 other companies looking to do just that”.

The head of route development for the airport, Cyrielle Clément, told Actu France “our first priority is to recover a large number of destinations that were only operated by Ryanair. As for the others, we’re working hard to identify the best companies to take over”.

Clément admitted that “in one year, it is impossible to recover all of the passenger volume, but we can meet demand with less frequency.”

So far, there have been announcements from other low-cost airlines, including Easyjet and Transavia, about plans to open new lines from the Bordeaux airport.

Easyjet announced in June it would be stepping up its presence, which currently counts 33 destinations, in south-west France.

The budget airline said it would add Zurich as a new destination from Bordeaux, as well as more flights to Athens (Greece), Funchal (Portugal), and Essaouira (Morocco).

France Bleu reported that Easyjet was beginning to experiment with some routes previously held by Ryanair, such as Rome, with plans to offer two flights when France’s national rugby team plays in Italy in February.

Transavia also announced that it would be adding six new international routes from the Bordeaux airport, launching in winter 2024, according to the French press.

From December, Transavia will offer four flights per week to Marseille (from €29 one way), two flights to Porto (from €34 one way), two flights per week to Seville (from €27 one way), four flights per week to Marrakech (from €37 one way), two each week to Agadir in Morocco (from €39 one way) and two weekly flights also to Istanbul (from €69 one way).

Previously, flights to Agadir, Marrakech, Porto and Seville were provided by Ryanair.

Some smaller airlines will also take on some routes.

Actu France reported that Volotea would take over flights to Marrakech and Madrid, which were provided by Ryanair, and that Twin Jet, a French airline offering regional transport, had opened a new route connecting Bordeaux to Marseille with four flights per week as of June 2024.

In terms of future goals, the airport reportedly hopes to expand toward the Middle East, as well as to eventually open a direct line to New York, following the success of their route to Montreal.

“There’s a huge demand in both directions. Americans are very fond of Bordeaux and our wine. There’s little doubt that they’ll come,” Clément told Actu France.

The head of route development added that discussions were also underway with Finnair and SAS airlines to increase flight offerings to Scandinavia.

Will Ryanair go elsewhere in France?

In their departure announcement, Ryanair said that “Bordeaux’s loss will be a gain for other airports across Europe”, noting that the airline would open five new aircraft bases in Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Reggio Calabria, Tangier and Trieste.

Simple Flying reported that Ryanair would also be opening a second maintenance hangar in Lithuania.

The airline did not make any specific announcements about additional plans in France or other south-western airports, but it retains its hubs at Marseille, Toulouse and Beauvais. The Local has reached out for comment.

Why did Ryanair leave in the first place?

The company stated cost issues in their departure announcement, specifically a “loss of $300m investment” and rising costs at the airport.

Simon Dreschel told La Tribune Bordeaux that the airport is “changing the way [they] work with airlines.

“Bordeaux airport is the cheapest airport in France and we are therefore entitled to raise our prices even though Bordeaux air traffic is very strong.

READ MORE: Are France’s loss-making regional airports under threat?

“We increased our prices by five percent in August 2023 and we [increased] them again by five percent on 1 August 2024.

“But even with these increases, we remain the least expensive airport in France, which is very attractive for airlines! The reality is that the airport is a company that must invest 250 million euros in its infrastructure and airlines must therefore pay for these services. It is as basic as that.”

SHOW COMMENTS

Url copied to clipboard!