Under their masks, the passengers of the flight from Paris Pointe-à-Pitre smiled, it was easy to read in their eyes.
On the first day of the entry into force of the health pass, they also released, this Wednesday, the lifting of the "compelling reason" to Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Early this Wednesday, even the long (but fluid) queue to check in baggage did not dampen their good mood.
“We postponed our tickets several times, but this time it is!
»Rejoiced Marie-Gabrielle.
For a bit, it would even have been madly like the world before, if not for the obligation, at the counter, to present Air France staff with a negative PCR test.
For this, the vast majority of passengers, boarding pass in one hand, smartphone in the other, used the QR Code on the TousAntiCovid application.
Read also Covid-19: 1 million health passes already issued in Europe, announces Thierry Breton
Many families are there, the summer outfits are out - shorts, Bermuda shorts, several vacationers are even already in flip-flops - and if the mask reminds us that the virus is still circulating, many have the impression of revenge on the months of confinement. .
This is the case of Philippine and Valentin, just in their thirties, who travel with their two sons, Manéo, 5 years old, and Lizio, 2 years old.
"We were to leave last May, the date had been set more than a year ago," slips Valentin.
“This trip was an opportunity to celebrate my 30th birthday and my grandmother's 80th birthday,” continues the young man.
We are delighted to finally be able to do it.
Unfortunately, as my grandmother has not yet received the two doses of the vaccine, she could not accompany us.
"
A real scent of the life before
A full plane, with 470 passengers aboard the Boeing 777, is also changing the life… of Air France personnel. In the flight preparation room, Mireille Monfraix, the main cabin manager, briefs the hostesses and stewards. “We will fly in a high density version,” she warns. The customers are there, what we hoped! On board: vacationers, people joining their families and businessmen. The aircraft is fitted with the brand new Air France cabin, with its blue headrests in eco class. "We will distribute sanitary kits and we must enforce the wearing of masks throughout the flight," recalls Mireille. So far, we haven't had any problems, just a few reminders after meals. "
Frédéric Neron, the captain, is also delighted to trade the hours of simulators against the sky, the real one.
“I will be piloting my first full flight in a year!
Until then, I had only 50, 100 people behind me.
And above all, people are there for fun.
In previous configurations, the passengers all had compelling motives.
"
Passenger traffic at Orly and Roissy in April only reached 13.9% of the number of travelers in the same month of 2019. LP / Olivier Arandel
A final check using a thermometer gun before boarding (in the event of the temperature exceeding 38 °, a PCR test may be carried out on site as an emergency) and flight AF792 at destination is ready to take off .
Passenger traffic at Orly and Roissy in April only reached 13.9% of the number of travelers in the same month of 2019, before the pandemic, but Aéroports de Paris (ADP) expects to see this figure climb on average to more than 35 % over the year 2021, in particular thanks to summer trips again possible to certain destinations.
This Wednesday morning in Orly, in fact, floated a real scent of life before.