Clarifications on the gradual easing of lockdown

A number of you in the départements provisionally marked red reacted to the Federation's recommendations in the last newsletter. We would like to provide the following clarifications:

• First of all, as we said, the legal framework is still not known, and it is normally from 7 May that the conditions applying in the départements concerned will be known precisely.
• In law, and as the texts stand, things will be relatively simple from 11 May: all recreational flights, whatever the microlight class, will be able to resume with no constraint other than not going more than 100 km from your home. No travel certificate will be needed as long as you stay within this 100 km radius. As things stand, no legal provision has addressed whether you may or may not enter a red zone from a green zone, provided you remain within 100 km of your home; the overlap has not been dealt with so far.

While awaiting regulatory clarification, the Federation, taking a reasoned and responsible approach, is led for now to give the following recommendations:

• Overlapping between zones will not be advised, so that for now it is recommended that each pilot flies only in the zone where their home is located,
• In all cases, it is recommended to put in place the "FFPLUM Covid-19" measures, which limit flights to two people in the same enclosed space.

More generally, it is obvious that the forthcoming legal conditions will apply to all aeronautical activities. It is not the federations but the State that makes the rules. As you have seen since the start of the crisis, the information is sometimes contradictory and incomplete. It is therefore very difficult for all of us to navigate injunctions or unspoken points that sometimes lack coherence and... even legality, and that change every week.

We would also like to make everyone aware of the psychological effect of the date of 11 May, whose significance should be put in perspective. Everything is still possible and precarious, in an obviously more restrictive direction. Under the state of health emergency, prefects could have very extensive powers. The 100 km limit and the explicit bans on certain activities or areas are still in force. We must also bear in mind that small warning signs (an accident, a lack of public-spiritedness, etc.) can have a very significant effect on all our activities. We will need to support the return to flying with great caution.

As soon as we have more precise information (so normally on the evening of 7 May), in liaison with the authorities and the members of the National Council of Aeronautical and Sports Federations, we will communicate on how the new rules apply to our activities. We have given a general framework, being pragmatic and responsible, involving the whole Board of Directors, our lawyer, the federation doctor and healthcare professionals.

It may change, and we hope it will in a less restrictive direction for the départements in the red zone.

For the départements in the green zone, we are defending the framework that has been set out, but we must all remain very vigilant.

We will communicate again on Thursday evening or Friday morning at the latest.

Look after yourselves!

Sébastien Perrot

President of FFPLUM