KQ Suspends Flights To and From Sudan Amid Conflicts

Kenya Airways (KQ) has suspended flights to and from the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum, amid fighting among the armed forces.

Julius Thairu, the Chief Commercial and Customer Officer at KQ, stated that before releasing any changes to flyers, they continue to monitor the situation in Sudan.

“We wish to inform our customers that we have adjusted the schedules for our flights to and from Europe by approximately one hour to cater for the rerouting of these flights, “read the statement.

The violent confrontations that have ravaged the country are to blame for the national carrier’s decision to cancel flights, which prompted the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority to impose a flight ban across the country’s airspace.

According to witnesses, there were explosions and shooting in the commercial center, and the streets were desolate. It happened after the paramilitary said that it had taken over the airport, the presidential palace, and other crucial buildings.

In a video that has been circulating online and that one local newspaper has seen, planes are seen being set burned on the runway at the international airport of Khartoum. Another video depicts a fighter jet, purportedly from the military, hovering low above the besieged city.

The national airline of Saudi Arabia, Saudia, had reported that one of its aircraft, which had passengers and personnel on board and was waiting to take off, had been “exposed to gunfire damage.”

For aircraft traveling to Kenya in transit from Europe and other southern African nations, the Sudanese airspace is a crucial route.

Another Saudi-owned aircraft is said to have been diverted back to Athens earlier due to the fluid situation in Sudan.

Following the suspension of flights to Sudan by a number of airlines, the Nairobi-bound flight was diverted.