Somalia blocking Israeli carrier from transiting its airspace

Arkia said that it has not received a renewal of its permit to fly over Somalia airspace, which expired at the end of January, and may be forced to alter its flight route to Thailand.

By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS

The East African country of Somalia is holding up permits for Israeli airline Arkia to continue flying over it to and from the Far East, the Israeli Transport Ministry says.

The delay comes amid tensions between the two countries over Israel’s recognition on Dec. 26 of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland as an independent state.

Somalia views the autonomous region as an integral part of its territory.

“The reason for not granting the approval to Arkia is not clear because the authorities in Somalia did not specify the reason for their refusal,” the Transport Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

“This refusal constitutes a violation of the Convention on International Aviation to which Somalia, a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is a signatory.”

The ministry added that it is working with “all relevant parties” and using “all means at its disposal” to assist the Israeli carrier in resolving the issue.

Arkia said that it has not received a renewal of its permit to fly over Somalia airspace, which expired at the end of January, and may be forced to alter its flight route to Thailand.

“As part of international aviation procedures, airlines submit periodic requests for air transit permits on various routes,” Arkia said in a statement. “As of now, Arkia has not yet received the renewal of the periodic permit for air transit over Somalia for February.”

“If approval is not received by the beginning of February, the company will operate flights on an alternative route, without any change to flight times and without harming passengers,” the carrier said.

Arkia, which began flying to Thailand in November, added that the issue is being handled by Israeli authorities, including the Civil Aviation Authority and the Foreign Ministry.

Israeli flag carrier El Al’s permit renewal to fly over Somalia remains valid until March 1.

Israeli travel agents said Thursday that the delay in granting the permit is seen as Somalia’s revenge over Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and was a diplomatic issue that will have little to no effect on flights to the Far East.

“The refusal of Somalia’s government to grant the approval due to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is more of a diplomatic issue than anything else,” Mark Feldman, CEO of Jerusalem’s Ziontours, told JNS on Sunday.

“The additional 20 minutes required to bypass their airspace will have zero ramifications on Arkia marketing the route.”