RIYADH – A plane carrying Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to Tehran at the weekend was prevented from crossing Saudi Arabian airspace because no prior approval had been sought, the Kingdom's civil aviation authorities said on Tuesday. This was the only reason the plane was turned back, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a statement. “The (Authority) denied permission to a private plane (Sunday) from crossing its airspace in a flight between Khartoum and Tehran international airports... for the lack of the needed regulatory approval,” the statement said. No prior notice was given to the Kingdom's air surveillance center and the pilot only informed the Kingdom that Bashir was on board after the plane was on its way back to Khartoum, said the statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Sudanese authorities had failed to officially request a diplomatic permit 48 hours prior to the flight, as per regulations, GACA said. Civil aviation regulations in Saudi Arabia and abroad “demand that aircraft obtain permits to cross their airspace and land in their airports. Not complying with this is considered against these regulations.” The GACA statement said: “The plane used in this flight had a temporary permit to land at Saudi Arabia's international airports for the owner's personal use only, but this permit did not authorize leasing the plane to others. Moreover, the plane used in this flight was registered outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was for private use. Therefore, the regulations of the ‘country of registration' or of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not allow using the plane for commercial purposes.” “No other reasons prohibited the plane from crossing the kingdom's airspace,” the statement clarified. – Agencies
