Clashes between the Sudanese military and a local rebel group throughout the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum have led to the destruction of at least two commercial aircraft at the city‘s airport as well as the closure of Sudan’s airspace.
Videos filmed at the airport show one SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737-800 on fire, as well as a Saudia Airlines Airbus A330 (HZ-AQ30) which was about to depart back to Riyadh burning on the civilian apron of the airport. The SkyUp aircraft, registered as UR-SQH, was leased to local airline Sun Air but was empty at the time of the attack, unlike the Saudia A330 which was fully boarded when the attack occurred. Initial reports indicate that everyone was able to evacuate the aircraft. It is unclear at the moment if any other aircraft were damaged or destroyed.
As a result of the attack and subsequent takeover of the airport by the rebel group, the airport has been closed indefinitely and flights that had originally planned to fly through Sudanese airspace are rerouting via neighboring countries.
Source: International Flight Network
