While flights passing over Gabon airspace have been diverted or cancelled after the country closed its airspace on Wednesday, August 30, it now appears that Niger has reopened its airspace.
The closure of Gabon’s airspace followed a military coup on Wednesday August 30, which saw the newly-elected president, Ali Bongo, placed under house arrest. The coup followed the country’s disputed presidential election result on August 26, after the country’s electoral commission named Bongo, of the Bongo clan which has reigned 55 years, as the victor.
LBV is Gabon’s main international airport and serves several international carriers including Air France, Air Senegal, ASKY Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Royal Air Maroc according to simpleflying.com. The closure of airspace will affect airlines which usually fly over the country on routes to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Following the Niger airspace closure, British Airways was obliged to fly over Gabon on the adjusted route to Johannesburg ORTIA. Now the airline must fly over the Gulf of Guinea on its flights between Heathrow and OR Tambo, but this is expected to change as the airline will presumably revert to its original route over Niger.
On August 30, ASKY's flight from São Tomé to Libreville was diverted to Lomé, while Ethiopian's flight from Addis Ababa into Gabon was diverted to Yaounde. Similarly, Transair's flight from Brazzaville to Libreville was forced to land at Abidjan. Gabon's only local airline, Afrijet, has also suspended all flights from Libreville.
Gabon’s coup has also further disrupted Air France's operations in West and Central Africa, as the airline operates daily flights between Paris and Libreville. It has been forced to cancel this service, plus its flights to Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou remain suspended.
African airspace closures are a threat to intra-African connectivity as well as travel and trade with various European countries.
Sudan opened the airspace over the northern part of the country last week, which was a relief for some carriers, reports simpleflying.com.
