Niger
Risk Level: Three - Caution
[ about risk levels ]
Risk elevated for Niger, due to risk of target misidentification for civil traffic. Security on the ground is still a problem. The US continues to advise against all travel there.
Niger’s airspace and airports were temporarily closed to all flights in Aug 2023, following a military coup. The coup leaders are now operating defensively, and actively looking for signs of military intervention from neighbouring states. If this were to happen, it would likely be from ECOWAS states led by Nigeria, and also potentially with troops from Benin, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. In this scenario, such regional escalation would highly likely trigger further airspace closures with increased shootdown risks in the wider area.
Read: OSGROUP article, Aug 2023
Major events:
Jan 2024: Report of intermittent GPS spoofing in Niger, which began during climb out of DRRN/Niamey and remained until descent to DXXX/Lome in Togo to the south.
Dec 2023: Several reports of overflights being denied entry into Niger airspace at short notice. In all cases, a valid permit was in hand but was not accepted by Niger ATC while the flight was airborne. Likely due to CAA computer system errors. Overflights should carry extra fuel for potential holding.
Sep 2023: Niger’s airspace reopened for the first time since a military coup in July. But it now excludes French-registered aircraft, or those chartered by French interests due to a political dispute.
Niger’s airspace and airports were temporarily closed to all flights in Aug 2023, following a military coup. The coup leaders are now operating defensively, and actively looking for signs of military intervention from neighbouring states. If this were to happen, it would likely be from ECOWAS states led by Nigeria, and also potentially with troops from Benin, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. In this scenario, such regional escalation would highly likely trigger further airspace closures with increased shootdown risks in the wider area.
Read: OSGROUP article, Aug 2023
Major events:
Jan 2024: Report of intermittent GPS spoofing in Niger, which began during climb out of DRRN/Niamey and remained until descent to DXXX/Lome in Togo to the south.
Dec 2023: Several reports of overflights being denied entry into Niger airspace at short notice. In all cases, a valid permit was in hand but was not accepted by Niger ATC while the flight was airborne. Likely due to CAA computer system errors. Overflights should carry extra fuel for potential holding.
Sep 2023: Niger’s airspace reopened for the first time since a military coup in July. But it now excludes French-registered aircraft, or those chartered by French interests due to a political dispute.