With the venerable C-160 Transall, once the backbone of the tactical air forces of France and Germany, I flew from La Réunion to Mayotte – two tropical outposts of Europe in the Indian Ocean.
The Transall, now replaced in France by the Airbus A400M Atlas, was stationed for many years on Réunion. From there, it supplied the small but symbolic contingent of the French Foreign Legion, which maintains France’s military presence in this remote region – including strategically important Mayotte.
What looks like a tropical flight for vacation romantics is in fact a piece of living geopolitics – and a quiet reminder that we, as EU taxpayers, help finance these distant prestige islands.
So, may I land there? – Yes. I have paid for it after all.
The flight itself?
Tropical humidity, crosswinds, low cloud layers, and an approach to a runway that forgives nothing. The Transall? It performed once again – and will continue to do so in the simulator.
