Sudan Airways in 2026: How the State Carrier Flies After the Civil War

History and positioning

Before the war, Sudan Airways operated as a flag carrier on a regional network to the Middle East and a few African countries, in addition to domestic links. The conflict that broke out in April 2023 between the regular army and the paramilitary forces made Sudanese airspace inaccessible to most international airlines and directly hit the airline's infrastructure, putting Khartoum airport out of service for long periods.

The fleet

The airline's only operational aircraft, an Airbus A320, was sent to India for extensive maintenance and returned to Port Sudan on January 24, 2026 after months out of service. Operations had been suspended on July 11, 2025 precisely to allow this technical work, a sign of how reduced the remaining fleet has become to the bare minimum compared with the years before the conflict.

Routes and network

Since January 20, 2026 Sudan Airways has resumed services from Port Sudan to Cairo and Jeddah, calling the first restart flight a sign of the airline's "return of spirit." Khartoum airport remains marginal compared with Port Sudan, which in the meantime has established itself as the country's main air gateway for the population and for international operators.

It is not an option designed for tourism, but for many Sudanese nationals and humanitarian workers it remains the only direct link available to Cairo and Jeddah from Port Sudan. Anyone who must travel out of necessity should check the operational status of the flight in the days immediately before departure through official channels or the relevant embassy, because with a single active aircraft any technical problem can lead to cancellations with no short-term alternative on the same airline.