Airspace Closure in Niger Causes Disruption and Extended Flights for Airlines.
The recent closure of Niger’s airspace has led to considerable challenges for several airlines, resulting in longer and more fuel-intensive journeys.
This development has tacked on an additional two hours of flying time or up to 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) for numerous flights traveling from Europe to the southern regions of the continent.
The decision to shut down the airspace was prompted by the potential military intervention suggested by the West African regional group, Ecowas, if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated.
This announcement caught some flights mid-journey, prompting reroutes for those already in the air and requiring others to turn back to their departure points.
Harriet Sergeant, who was on a British Airways flight from Nairobi, shared her experience, saying, “We had gone to sleep… About four hours later, the captain woke us up and told us that we had to return because Niger had closed its airspace… There was simply not enough fuel to go around. So we had to go back, which was a really terrible feeling.”
Prior to this, flights had already been avoiding Libyan and Sudanese airspace due to ongoing conflicts. Sudan’s airspace restriction was implemented as a result of the conflict within its borders.
Several European nations, including Germany, France, the UK, the US, and Canada, have placed restrictions on their civil aircraft, prohibiting them from operating in Libyan airspace.
In light of this situation, airlines will need to adjust their operations to accommodate the additional flight distances, which in turn will raise fuel consumption and subsequently increase costs.
