Drone Attacks Near Khartoum Airport Disrupt Flights; Aviation Centre Urges Temporary Suspension of Commercial Operations

Five successive waves of drone attacks attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck seven locations across Khartoum, including areas around the capital's international airport, killing a man and four children. Air defences intercepted threats directed at the airport and its facilities, while one drone fell in an unoccupied area east of the runway, with no casualties reported at the site.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) in Sudan said some flights had been disrupted. Passengers said they arrived to find their flights cancelled without prior notification; one woman said her travel agency told her the flight still appeared as scheduled in the electronic booking system, while another flight departed at around the same time. A senior airport official said flights were continuing according to airlines' published schedules and that air traffic had not been affected. Sudan Airways also kept operating.

The Sudanese Centre for Civil Aviation Research and Studies recommended temporarily suspending commercial operations at the airport, which resumed operations in October last year after a war-related shutdown. It said any decision should rest on a formal safety risk assessment and independent, evidence-based evaluation rather than economic or political considerations, and warned that an accident in an active conflict zone could erode airline confidence, raise insurance premiums and trigger international warnings or restrictions leading to a longer closure.

The airport's verified Facebook page, with more than 250,000 followers, posted no operational updates and only condolence messages. Specialists warned that this information vacuum could fuel rumours and confuse passengers.