The 2023 Khartoum destruction of aircraft was the loss of several civilian aircraft that occurred during the battle of Khartoum in Sudan.
On 15 April 2023, an armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rival factions of the military government of Sudan, began, with the fighting concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region.
During this period, a total of 10 civilian aircraft were destroyed or damaged at Khartoum Airport.[1]
Background
In the early morning of 15 April 2023, pro-RSF forces initiated a series of assaults on key installations in Khartoum, including the Khartoum International Airport.
The RSF also captured the presidential palace, the residence of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and attacked a military base. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, more commonly known as Hemedti, the commander of the RSF, claimed that his forces controlled most of the city's government buildings.[2][3] This claim was disputed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto leader of the Sudanese government.
The same day, several aerial attacks against the RSF targets were conducted by the SAF. Users on Facebook Live and Twitter documented the Sudanese Air Force flying above the city and striking the RSF targets.[4] On 17 April, the Sudanese government announced the closure of Sudan's airspace, initially limited solely to that of Khartoum.[5][6] A ceasefire was declared on 18 April at 18:00 local time, leading to a reduction in fighting in the vicinity of the airport.
Destruction
On 15 April according to Flightradar24, several aircraft belonging to Saudia, Badr Airlines, and SkyUp Airlines were damaged.[7] Later, Saudia confirmed that one of its planes was targeted before takeoff, leading to the evacuation of all passengers, crew, and staff to the Saudi Embassy.[8] Also among the damaged airframes was a plane operated by the World Food Programme (WFP).[9]
Satellite images published by Maxar Technologies on Monday, 17 April, revealed the extent of the damage at the airport. These showed at least 14 airplanes destroyed and various others damaged at Khartoum International Airport. A later analysis by The New York Times, using satellite images from both Maxar and Planet Labs, indicated that at least 20 planes were destroyed or damaged at the airport.[10] The Badr Airlines airplane was completely destroyed on 20 April.[1]
As of 21 April, the following destroyed or damaged aircraft were reported in Khartoum:[1][10]
Aftermath
Following the conflict and destruction at Khartoum International Airport, flights on several airlines to and from Sudan were promptly canceled.[12] The ongoing fighting in the vicinity of the airport and the destruction of civilian aircraft posed significant challenges for evacuating foreigners from the area. As a result, many individuals had no choice but to undertake long journeys by car to Port Sudan, approximately 650 km northeast of Khartoum.[9]
Furthermore, the destruction of the World Food Programme's aircraft severely impacted the organization's capacity to transport staff and deliver assistance to people across the country.[13]
Other cases
On 28 April, a Turkish evacuation plane came under fire at the Wadi Saida airbase. The aircraft's fuselage sustained damage, particularly to the fuel system, requiring major repairs.[14]
Saudia Airbus A330-300, registration HZ-AQ30
SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737-86Q, registration UR-SQH
Badr Airlines Boeing 737-8AL, registration 4L-MWA
Asia Cargo Airlines Boeing 737-300F, registration PK-YGW
Belcanto Airlines Ilyushin IL-76, registration EW-576TH