Ethiopian Airlines on Friday evening denied media reports claiming that it would reroute flights to avoid Somali airspace, which had previously been utilized for flights en route to Asia.
On Friday afternoon, BBC Amharic reported that the airline has suspended flights to Somalia, choosing instead to fly towards Djibouti before proceeding over central Asia. The company arrived at this decision due to the lack of “reliable air traffic services” from Somali air traffic controllers, citing Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew.
However, the airlines stated on Twitter that the report about the CEO’s comments on the Somali airspace situation is inaccurate and distorted. “Ethiopian Airlines has not stopped flying over the Somali airspace and Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO did not state that it is unsafe to fly over Somali airspace. Accordingly, we request BBC Amharic to correct the report it has issued on the subject,” it said.
The BBC article quoted Mesfin as saying that the decision to suspend the flight stemmed from an incident last week, where an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis to Dubai narrowly avoided a collision with a Qatar Airways flight due to unclear communication from air traffic controllers stationed in Mogadishu.
The incident occurred amidst a dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia concerning a recent agreement, allowing Ethiopia to lease 20 km around the port of Berbera for its navy and commercial activities. In exchange, according to Somaliland, Ethiopia would recognize it as an independent state. However, Somalia, which still regards Somaliland as part of its territory, is insisting that the agreement be canceled.
Data from the FlightRadar24 flight tracking website indicates that the airline’s flights on Friday evening did utilize Djibouti’s airspace, even though the airline has continued to use Somalia’s airspace for cargo flights.
