The Colombian Air Force reported today that an Ilyushin Il-96-400 belonging to the Government of Russia breached the terms of the requested overflight permit and entered the airspace of its jurisdiction through a different zone than that allowed.
The Command and Control Center sent IAI Kfir planes to meet the aircraft, which complied with the orders of the interceptor team and withdrew from the conflicting sector of the airspace.
This is indicated by the Colombian Air Force in a statement:
«On Monday, April 19 at 09:22 hours, the aircraft Illyushin II-96-400VPU of the Russian Government was detected, coming from Moscow, which had overflight permission 0354/21, which established entry to Colombian airspace by coordinates 12 ’28’41.46 ”W71º24’0.75” north of La Guajira, outside the continental territory.
2. The National Air Defense System detected that the aircraft would enter from a different position than the authorized one.
3. Once this information was known, the Colombian Air Force Command and Control Center ordered the departure of the interceptor aircraft, in accordance with air interdiction procedures.
4. The aircraft was intercepted entering Colombian airspace by KFIR air superiority aircraft, who ordered its immediate departure, an order that was followed by the Russian state aircraft.
5. The crews of the Colombian Air Force managed the situation appropriately, exercising sovereignty and control of the airspace, thus demonstrating the capacity that Colombia has to defend its territory.
6. Similar situations have occurred on August 31, 2019, April 19, 2020 and July 21, 2020; also recalling that, on October 30 and November 1, 2013, two Russian TU-160 bomber aircraft violated national space, which were intercepted by KFIR aircraft.
7. The Institution will continue to exercise sovereignty over the national territory and airspace, as established by the Colombian Political Constitution. «
