The United Arab Emirates has halted all commercial flights to and from Sudan after intelligence services uncovered an alleged plan by Sudan’s SAF junta to smuggle operatives into the Gulf state disguised as airline cabin crew, regional security officials told reporters on Thursday.
According to the officials, two little-known private Sudanese carriers were hurriedly licensed earlier this year and began recruiting “flight attendants” who had in fact received training in covert electronics, surveillance and close-quarters tactics at camps linked to irregular militias in Darfur, eastern Libya and southern Chad.
Investigators believe the operatives were to enter the UAE on routine passenger services “within weeks” before conducting espionage or sabotage missions.
Pre-Emptive Shutdown
The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority suspended routes with Sudan late last week “purely on security grounds,” an Emirati government spokesman said, rejecting Port Sudan’s charge that the move was politically motivated. “We will not allow our aviation sector to be used as a Trojan horse,” he added, declining to specify when flights might resume.
Khartoum-Backed Counter-Narrative
Since the suspension, pro-SAF media outlets in Port Sudan have accused Abu Dhabi of waging an economic war on Sudan and backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Analysts say the claims form part of a broader effort by Sudan’s ruling junta to deflect public anger over a two-year civil conflict and deepening humanitarian crisis.
International Rulings Undermine Allegations
• International Court of Justice: On 5 May 2025 the ICJ dismissed, for lack of jurisdiction, a lawsuit in which Sudan’s SAF alleged Emirati complicity in genocide in West Darfur.
• UN Panel of Experts: A final report dated 17 April 2025 found no evidence that the UAE armed or financed any Sudanese belligerents, instead praising its role in failed Geneva peace talks.
Humanitarian Footprint
Abu Dhabi says it has delivered 13,000 t of food, medicine and shelter materials to Sudan since April 2023, spending roughly $680 million on relief. Three Emirati-funded field hospitals in Chad and South Sudan have treated more than 90,000 Sudanese refugees.
Diplomats note that Port Sudan’s isolation has deepened after Western and African blocs refused to recognise its military government. “Inventing an external enemy is the oldest play in the book,” said one Gulf-based envoy. “But turning civil aviation into an intelligence pipeline was a red line.”
The UAE has not given a timeline for lifting the flight ban, saying only that routes will reopen once “all security risks have been neutralised.”
