Sudanese travellers who have been stuck in limbo since Saturday when the dissident forces launched an attack on the capital Khartoum have been offered temporary accommodation in Dubai after it became clear that they wouldn’t be able to return home anytime soon.
Despite a negotiated truce, fighting is ongoing in the capital, and the situation remains dangerous and highly volatile. International airlines have suspended All commercial flights to Khartoum while the situation remains so precarious.
As the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSG) launched their attack on Khartoum airport on Saturday, Emirates and its sister low-cost airline flydubai quickly cancelled flights to Sudan, leaving some Sudanese travellers trapped in limbo in Dubai International Airport.
Perhaps hoping to avoid the kinds of stories of stranded passengers that emerged at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 when Dubai grounded all flights, a spokesperson for the airport operator confirmed on Wednesday that Sudanese travellers are now being offered temporary accommodation in the emirate.
In a statement, the airport said it had “extended support to Sudanese transit passengers, who are unable to complete their journey from Dubai to Khartoum, due to their connecting flights being cancelled owing to safety considerations arising from the current situation in Sudan.”
“The passengers have been offered temporary accommodation until they are able to travel to Khartoum or they choose to travel to other destinations,” the statement continued.
Emirates says it has suspended all flights between Dubai and Khartoum “due to a deteriorating situation of civil unrest” and that customers connecting on Emirates or flydubai flights to Sudan “will not be accepted for travel at the point of origin until further notice”.
The airline does not intend to resume regularly scheduled services to Khartoum until May 31 at the earliest.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Khartoum and updates with regards to Emirates operations will be published in due course,” an official for the airline commented.
During the initial attack, an Airbus A330 operated by Saudia Airlines was completely destroyed after it was apparently hit by shelling while passengers and crew were onboard.
Thankfully, the airline was able to confirm that everyone onboard escaped unharmed and were later taken to safety at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum.
As many as 20 aircraft may have been destroyed in the assault, including a Boeing 737 belonging to Ukrainian airline Skyup.
Dubai Airports said it was continuing to monitor the situation in Sudan to “determine the course of action in the coming days.”
