The civil aviation authority of South Sudan, which has been independent since 2011, issued a flight ban on the aircraft types Antonov An-24, An-26, An-30, British Aerospace BAe-748 and Let 410UVP. The only exceptions are those Antonov machines that are operated on behalf of the United Nations.

Almost without exception, they are aircraft that are getting on quite a bit in the years. The portal CH-Aviation.com reports that the government of South Sudan has given foreign operators a deadline to remove their aircraft that is affected by the ban from the country. Domestic operators are no longer allowed to use the machine types listed in the first paragraph.

According to official sources, the decision was made based on the fact that a number of accidents have occurred in the past few weeks. Machines from the manufacturers Antonow and Let Kunovice were particularly often affected. The last time an An-2 crashed on November 2021, 26, shortly after taking off from Juba. The five crew members perished.

How long the flight ban will last is currently unclear. Since some of the machines are getting on in years, it can be assumed that they will be replaced by modern aircraft. On the other hand: The operators in South Sudan are not considered to be financially well positioned.