For the first time in more than two years, Khartoum International Airport has reopened its runways to commercial flights, marking a moment of hope and uncertainty for Sudan’s embattled capital. On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, a Badr Airlines flight from Port Sudan touched down in Khartoum, briefly breaking the city’s long isolation since the outbreak of civil war in April 2023. The plane’s arrival was more than a symbolic gesture—it offered a glimmer of reconnection for a country fractured by conflict, displacement, and humanitarian disaster.
According to Al Jazeera and multiple international outlets, the reopening came just a day after a series of drone attacks rattled the airport and surrounding neighborhoods. Loud explosions were reported early Tuesday across East Nile, Haj Youssef, and Omdurman, with smoke billowing near the airport’s perimeter. Military sources blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have increasingly relied on drones to strike both military and civilian targets in their battle with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of the capital.
Despite the violence, Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that the airport would resume limited domestic flights, with plans to expand routes as security conditions improve. The first Badr Airlines flight, which landed and then quickly returned to Port Sudan, was a cautious but necessary step toward reconnecting the country’s divided regions. Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, has served as the country’s temporary administrative hub since the fighting forced Khartoum’s shutdown in 2023.
Yet, even as the tarmac reopened, the threat of renewed violence loomed large. On Thursday, October 23, the RSF once again targeted Khartoum and its airport with drones. The SAF intercepted the aircraft, and no damage was reported, according to The Associated Press. Witnesses described the tense early morning hours: "We heard two drones over Khartoum at about 4am, before explosions went off," one resident told AFP. The airport has now faced repeated drone attacks blamed on the RSF since Tuesday, a stark reminder that peace remains fragile on the ground.
RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo Mousa, known as Hemedti, made it clear in a video speech that his forces would continue to target the airport. "Any airplane that takes off from any neighboring country, any airplane that is dropping supplies, bombing or killing, any drone that takes off from any airport, will be a legitimate target for us," Hemedti declared. Meanwhile, Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan toured the airport ahead of its reopening, vowing to protect citizens from RSF attacks. The Sudan Civil Aviation Authority announced that domestic flights would resume after completing operational and technical procedures, but it remains unclear how many airlines will risk using Khartoum’s airspace under such conditions.
The reopening’s significance extends far beyond Sudan’s borders. As reported by BBC and regional outlets, Khartoum is a vital transport hub for trade and commerce across the Horn and northeast Africa. Restoring air links, even on a limited domestic scale, is expected to help reunite supply chains, reduce transit times for goods, and facilitate business coordination with neighboring countries. For humanitarian agencies, the airport’s return to service is a logistical lifeline—ground routes have grown perilous as conflict blocks major roads, and air corridors are essential for delivering aid, evacuating the wounded, and reaching regions otherwise cut off by insecurity.
Humanitarian convoys operated by UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) have struggled to reach central and western Sudan, with attacks on aid vehicles forcing agencies to suspend deliveries to conflict zones earlier this year. The reopening of Khartoum’s airport offers a new, if risky, avenue for speeding up the movement of food, medical supplies, and emergency personnel. Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director, visited Darfur and described the dire conditions: "What I witnessed in Darfur and elsewhere this week is a stark reminder of what is at stake: children facing hunger, disease and the collapse of essential services. Entire communities are surviving in conditions that defy dignity."
The scale of the crisis is staggering. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the war has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced as many as 12 million since April 2023. The United Nations reports that over 24 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and more than 30 million—including nearly 15 million children—are in dire need of aid. In the besieged city of al-Fashir, North Darfur, more than a quarter of a million civilians have been cut off from food and healthcare, with thousands of children at imminent risk of death due to malnutrition. "Health facilities have collapsed, and thousands of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are now without treatment," UN agencies warned in a joint statement.
The reopening of Khartoum’s airport also influences refugee and displacement dynamics. With millions displaced internally and hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in neighboring Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Egypt, even limited domestic flights could alter movement patterns and the allocation of humanitarian resources. Aid groups hope that improved air access will allow some families to return to the capital or access essential services, though ongoing violence and insecurity mean that such returns remain fraught with danger.
Politically, the airport’s reopening is a signal to the international community that the Sudanese military is attempting to reassert control and restore a semblance of normalcy. Since ousting former leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019, Sudan has been rocked by waves of instability and power struggles. The military’s capture of the airport from the RSF in March 2025 was a turning point, but the RSF still controls large swathes of western Darfur and other regions. The ongoing drone attacks, coupled with Hemedti’s threats, underscore the risks that come with any attempt at normalization.
Satellite imagery obtained by Al Jazeera’s SANAD fact-checking agency showed evidence of an aircraft hit inside Nyala Airport, which remains under RSF control in South Darfur. Neither side has commented on the incident, highlighting the information vacuum and uncertainty that pervade the conflict. Meanwhile, the United Nations and aid agencies continue to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access. "Famine was confirmed in parts of Sudan last year and the hunger situation remains catastrophic, with children among the hardest hit," UN officials said.
As Khartoum International Airport tentatively resumes operations, the stakes could hardly be higher. The move is a practical win for aid delivery, medical evacuations, and market reconnection, but its durability depends on security on the ground and the willingness of airlines and humanitarian groups to risk renewed attacks. For now, the airport’s reopening stands as both a beacon of hope and a stark reminder of Sudan’s ongoing fragility—a country where every step toward normalcy is shadowed by the specter of war.
