Niger’s Airspace Reopens 1 Month After Coup Closure.

By Olusiji Balogun

After seizing power on July 26th, the military coup leaders closed Niger’s airspace  before reopening it on August 2nd to five neighboring countries, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, and Mali. This somewhat good-willed measure was reversed days later on August 6th, after regional countries threatened to intervene with military tactics to restore the elected president to rightful civilian rule.

Under the second closure attempt, the five neighboring countries also simultaneously closed. Besides disrupting passenger movements locally and stranding them, the new ban caused further complications for airlines worldwide, as it comes on top of an existing ban on flights over Libya and Sudan – making over half of the skies over the Sahel virtually impassable for airlines, and only a handful of flights have received special authorization to continue operating.

On the other hand, European carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Turkish Airlines, and many others were forced to cancel some flights. Other routes were delayed or often rerouted as the aircraft had to refuel, causing extended flight times for passengers. Air France was one example when the carrier had to divert six flights – including one from Nairobi to Paris, that typically crossed over the African continent for refueling.

Suffering The Consequences

Air France was also forced to temporarily suspend flight services to Bamako in Mali and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso since the military coup dominated these two countries. While these air carriers try to adapt to more geopolitical challenges, the consequences are dire for their route networks, financial situations, and overall global market share.

A Sudden Miracle

As the airlines continued adapting for nearly a month, Niger’s military coup leaders surprised everyone on Monday by reopening the country’s airspace to all commercial flights. Adding that ground services at airports had also been reinstated, a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry confirmed:

“The airspace of the Republic of Niger is now open to all national and international commercial flights, but will still remain closed to all operational military flights and others requiring prior authorization from the relevant authorities.”

A reason for the sudden lifting of the ban was not specified, albeit the country is likely feeling the ill effects of the imposed sanctions and border closures, resulting in a lack of food aid. Although the reprieve is welcoming news for passengers and airlines alike, it will take a while for carriers to respond by rerouting and possibly resuming flight services.

Airlines will likely proceed with caution as there remains lingering doubt about how long this reopening will last before the airspace is closed again. It probably does not help that Gabon airspace is being shut down this month making flight planning quite the headache for airlines.

Credit: Reuters.