Migrant aid NGOs operating in the Mediterranean have condemned a recent ban on humanitarian flights by Italy, claiming that the decision puts many lives in danger.
The Italian civil aviation authority, Enac, recently ruled that NGO planes could not fly over the central Mediterranean from Sicilian airports to locate migrants. Anyone violating the ban risks a range of penalties, including aircraft confiscation.
The Enac is overseen by the Ministry of Transport, headed by Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Northern League, who has made battling migration a priority issue.
“We won’t stop. The orders have one clear aim: to close the only eyes civil society has in the Mediterranean,” German NGO Sea-Watch said. It accused Italy of a “cowardly and cynical act for political propaganda purposes” ahead of the 9 June European elections.
Sea-Watch’s Italy spokesperson Giulia Messmer said a flight had taken place on Wednesday from the island of Lampedusa “with the airport’s permission for take-off and landing.”
According to Enac, search-and-rescue operations are the purview of the Italian coastguard and activities beyond that remit are illegal. However, NGOs argue that countries are not fulfilling their coordinating roles and NGO planes play a critical role in relaying ships’ GPS coordinates.
The Enac's new orders impact Sicilian airports in Trapani, Palermo, Lampedusa, and Pantelleria. NGOs have the option to file an appeal within 60 days to an administrative court.
Since coming to power in October 2022, Giorgia Meloni’s ultra-conservative government has frequently obstructed NGO activities, although 150,000 migrants arrived on the peninsula in 2023.
