Concorde cleared for take-off

Air France has been given permission to fly a Concorde round trip from Paris for tests amid hopes of returning the grounded supersonic fleet to the sky.

Air France has been given permission to fly a Concorde on a round trip from Paris for tests amid hopes of returning the grounded supersonic fleet to the sky.

The permit will allow the Concorde, grounded since a fatal crash in July, to be flown to a military base near Marseilles and back to Paris.

The aircraft will undergo a series of ground tests before being flown back to Paris on or before February 18.

Ground tests will be carried out "to validate modifications envisaged on the Concorde fleet that would allow the resumption of service of the plane in conditions of maximum security", said a statement from the DGAC, France's national civil aviation body.

No passengers are allowed on the flights, to be preceded by rigorous preparations, including a "detailed inspection of the runway and taxi areas", the statement added.

Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot has said the luxury jets can return to service sometime this year, if tests prove the chain of events leading to the crash can not be repeated.

Mr Gayssot says that ground tests will be carried out in France and flight tests in Britain at a later date.