On the night of Sunday, March 24, at around 00:43 East Africa local time, a near-miss incident occurred in the skies over East Africa. Two planes, Emirates flight UAE-722 (Boeing 777-300) and Ethiopian Airlines flight ETH-690 (Boeing 737-8), were flying at an altitude of 37,000 feet when they narrowly avoided a collision.
According to authorities in the autonomous region of Somaliland, the problem was caused by a failure at Mogadishu Control, which provided the same route and flight level to both aircraft. Somaliland and Somalia, where Mogadishu is located, have a long-standing dispute, reports our affiliated media, Aeroin.
Somaliland authorities reported the incident on social media (see below). Fortunately, the controllers and the Ethiopian Airlines flight acted quickly, and the pilot was able to change his altitude to 39,000 feet efficiently, avoiding the collision.
Frequent Errors and Diplomatic Tensions
The Somaliland Civil Aviation Authority accused Mogadishu air traffic controllers of making frequent errors like this, putting the safety of international flights at risk. The Somali government has not yet commented on the allegations.
It is worth noting that diplomatic tensions between Somaliland, Ethiopia and the Somali government have increased since the first two countries signed a memorandum of understanding this year.
Controversial Agreement
The agreement granted Ethiopia a 20 km stretch of coastline for maritime and military purposes in a 50-year concession, in exchange for a stake in Ethiopian Airlines in the region. Recognition of Somaliland’s independence is also said to have been part of the agreement, according to Somaliland sources.
