Aviation in South Sudan: the World’s Newest Nation

Last weekend the Republic of South Sudan was formally established a standalone nation after it formally declared its independence from Sudan after one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. The landlocked East African country is bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya to the southeast; Uganda to the south; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest; the Central African Republic to the west; and the Republic of Sudan to the north. While the rest of Sudan is dominated by desert, its landscape is full green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

The world's newest nation was born at midnight local South Sudanese time (21:00 GMT) on July 9 with the independence ceremony being held at the mausoleum of the late rebel leader John Garang, who died just months after signing the 2005 peace deal that ended years of bitter fighting between warring factions in the north and south of the former Sudan.

The country is home to a number of airfields, the majority of which are little more that dirt strips. The towns of Akobo and Nimule both have small unpaved runways that can be served by small commuter types, but Juba Airport in the nation’s capital has a growing number of links throughout the region and is likely to appear on more departure boards across the continent as South Sudan develops.

According to the latest schedule data, Juba is linked to six destinations with more than 85 weekly flights providing 6,500 seats. As the table above illustrates, its main market is the Kenyan capital Nairobi with Fly540, JetLink Express, Kenya Airways, Marsland Aviation all offering flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. In the past month Kenya Airways has boosted its own links to Juba, doubling capacity to double daily from July 1, a year since it inaugurated flights. According to the carrier, since its launch there has been a marked increase in travel by both individuals and corporate as well as developmental organisations seeking to do business in the region.

“We are very encouraged and excited about the uptake of our services to Juba since we started flying there mid last year. Transport is a key element in the enhancement of trade and we believe that regular flights to the region will go a long way in enhancing trade between Kenya and Sudan,” said Dr Titus Naikuni, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Airways.

Alongside Nairobi, international connections are also offered to Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Airlines), Entebbe (Air Uganda) and Khartoum (EgyptAir, Marsland Aviation, Nova Airways and Sudan Airways), while links are also offered from Juba to the domestic cities of Malakal (Ethiopian Airlines and Sudan Airways) and Wau (Sudan Airways) with onward links to Khartoum. Elsewhere in the country, Rumbek, which had been one of the main support airfields during the long conflict and was previously the administrative centre of the southern regions, has direct links to El Obeid by Marsland Aviation.