Mali Airlines suspends flights due to fuel shortage

Mali’s national civil aviation authority said several domestic airlines had suspended both domestic and international flights due to fuel shortages, and it feared the problem could continue for several days.

Sky Mali, a private aviation company, confirmed in a statement that it has cancelled flights from Bamako due to the fuel shortage affecting operations at Modibo Keita Senou International Airport. “Due to a fuel shortage at Modibo Keita Senou International Airport, Sky Mali regrets to announce the cancellation of its flights,” the statement said.

Sky Mali stressed that the fuel shortage has affected all airlines and assured that the necessary steps would be taken to resume air traffic as soon as possible.

Colonel Yaya Toure, director general of the National Civil Aviation Authority, pointed out that the situation could remain uncertain until July 15. He called on airlines to inform passengers of the need to rebook their flights or look for alternatives. Toure attributed the flight suspensions to a shortage of Class A1 kerosene at the airport’s depot.

Public reaction in Mali has raised concerns about the mismanagement of fuel stocks, with some attributing the problem to the ongoing political transition in the country following a coup. Mamadou Ismaila Konate, a lawyer and former Malian justice minister, commented on social media platform X: “A shortage resulting either from unforeseen circumstances or from poor or lacking planning in the management and supply of a product that is at once necessary, fragile and valuable.”

Konate criticized the situation, noting that there was a lack of accountability. “Diverted planes, stranded passengers, delayed cargo, not to mention departing passengers forced to wait on the ground for days. Our countries must be able to act more efficiently and coherently, pending the outcome of an investigation that must necessarily and sensibly be launched,” he explained.