Sky Mali halts flights amid security crisis

Sky Mali (ML, Bamako) has suspended domestic flights to northern and central Mali following escalating attacks by jihadist and separatist armed groups, in one of the first visible economic impacts of the country’s worsening security crisis, report Jeune Afrique and Agence France Press (AFP).

In a statement on April 28, the airline said its flights from Bamako to/from Gao and Mopti were suspended, citing passenger and crew safety as its top priority.

Mali has faced intensified violence since April 25, when fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin – JNIM) launched coordinated attacks alongside Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front. The unrest has increased pressure on the ruling military junta and disrupted transport links across parts of the country.

Gao, a key northern city, lies south of Kidal, which is under rebel control, while the security situation around Mopti in central Mali remains unclear after reported attacks in the region.

Sky Mali has been operating with one B737-400, ER-CTZ (msn 28703), wet leased from Terra Avia (T8, Chisinau International). Its in-house 34-year-old B737-500, TZ-SMA (msn 25418), has been stored at Bamako since November 2025.

According to ADS-B data, international airlines serving Bamako as of May 11 include EgyptAir, ASKY Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air Côte d’Ivoire, Air Burkina, Ethiopian Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc Cargo.

ch-aviation has contacted Sky Mali for comment.