MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News)-The government of Somalia has banned Russian made aeroplanes to operate in its airspace.
Four types of Russian Antonovs have until March 15 to stop its flight operation in the horn of African airspace.
The Somali Civil Aviation Management Authority (SCAMA) says the AN-24, AN-26, AN-32, and AN-12 models will not be permitted to operate in Somali airspace after March 15 citing safety reasons.
According to aviation officials, there have been no crashes involving the banned planes, but there have been ‘near misses’.
A statement from the SCAMA had earlier given airline operators until February 28 to cease flights but extended to March 15.
The move comes as countries around the globe grounded the operation of Boeing 737 Max 8 following deadly Ethiopian airlines crash.
All 157 passengers on board were killed, one Somali citizen among 35 nationalities affected by the deadly accident involving Africa’s biggest airline.
Somali government took full control of its airspace in 2017 from the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization that had managed since the breakout of the civil war in the early 1990s.
Discussion about this post