Addis Ababa November 24/2016 Some 20 airplanes have been grounded for trespassing Ethiopia’s airspace on November 22, 2016, according to Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA).
At a press conference he gave here today, ECAA Director-General Colonel Wesenyeleh Hunegnaw said the 20 tourist aircraft were flying inside the airspace of Ethiopia without permit.
The planes, which violated the Ethiopian airspace the day before yesterday, were forced to land at Gambella Airport.
The authorities are investigating who the owners of the planes are, the number of passengers in each plane, and nationalities of the passengers, he stated.
International aviation law does not allow aircraft to land or fly over a country violating the sovereignty of a nation, according to the director-general.
The planes were detained for further investigation as the passengers could not provide convincing answers to the question why they violated Ethiopia’s airspace, it was indicated.
An investigation team has been in Gambella since yesterday morning to undertake the assignment; and the findings will be made public as soon as the investigation is finalized, according to Colonel Wesenyeleh.
Asked whether the reason for the grounding was because of the state of emergency in the country, the director-general replied it has nothing to do with the state of emergency. ” This is a violation of sovereignty,” he stressed.
Planes with unscheduled flights are allowed to only land at Addis Ababa airport, Colonel Wesenyeleh said, adding that flights that violate this are illegal.
The Colonel said this is the first time aircraft violated Ethiopia airspace.
source: http://www.ena.gov.et/en/index.php/politics/item/2329-ethiopia-grounds-20-planes-for-violating-airspace