Khartoum International Airport received 12 Ethiopian airplanes that made emergency landings over a span of 6 hours from Sunday night to Monday morning, according to the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA). The emergency landing was due to bad weather and visibility dropping to only 800 meters at Addis Ababa Airport, the agency reported. The Ethiopian Airlines planes were coming from various European and Asian airports, headed to Addis Ababa.
Ibrahim Adlan, the head of the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, stated that "Khartoum Airport authorities handled the situation with high professionalism and full coordination with all relevant parties, welcoming the Ethiopian planes and providing them with all necessary technical and logistical services until their safe departure after conditions improved at Addis Ababa Airport, without affecting airport services or its usual flight schedules at all."
Adlan added that "Khartoum Airport operates as a backup airport for Addis Ababa Airport under agreed international arrangements, but it has never before received 12 Ethiopian planes in 6 hours." The Sudanese official also mentioned that two additional Ethiopian planes diverted to airports in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti.
