Sudan Airways (SD) Guide

Sudan Airways is Sudan’s state-owned national airline. Its operations have been severely limited by the war that began in April 2023.

Please note: bookingMentor is an independent travel service and is not affiliated with Sudan Airways. Because of the conflict in Sudan, flights can be changed or cancelled at short notice. Always confirm your booking with the airline and check your government’s travel advice.

What to expect

Sudan Airways (IATA SD) is the state-owned national airline of Sudan, headquartered in Khartoum and one of the oldest airlines in Africa. Since the war that began in April 2023 it has worked mainly from Port Sudan on the Red Sea with a fleet of two aircraft. It matters to Sudanese travellers, pilgrims and aid workers; most other visitors will find more reliable options on foreign carriers.

Eight decades of history

Sudan Airways was formed in February 1946 with technical help from the British company Airwork and commercial backing from Sudan Railways, and it started scheduled flights in July 1947 with four de Havilland Dove aircraft. Douglas DC-3s joined in 1953. In 1962 it became the first African airline to fly the Fokker F27, and in November that year it took delivery of de Havilland Comet 4C jets. Boeing 707s leased from British Midland replaced the Comets in 1972.

The airline joined IATA in 1959 and became a commercially run corporation in 1967. The government sold a majority stake in 2007 and kept 30 per cent, but a Kuwaiti group sold its 49 per cent back to the state in 2011, and Sudan Airways has been fully government-owned since 2012.

No flights to Europe

Sudan Airways does not fly to Europe.

The war and the move to Port Sudan

Fighting in Khartoum from April 2023 closed the capital's airport and badly disrupted Sudanese aviation. Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, became the country's main air gateway, and Sudan Airways moved its operations there.

Sudan Airways restarted flights to Khartoum International Airport on 1 February 2026 with a service from Port Sudan. In May 2026 it flew Hajj pilgrims from Port Sudan to Medina, its first Hajj flights in nine years.

Pre-war routes and the network today

Before the war the network covered domestic cities and regional routes to places such as Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Addis Ababa and Juba, and a route list published in February 2023 showed about 12 destinations. Many former routes have been marked as ended, and today's flights are few and change at short notice. Treat any older route list as history, not a timetable.

Sudan Airways is not part of any airline alliance.

Booking and travel advice

Most Sudan Airways tickets are sold at the airline's offices or through authorised travel agents. Confirm the flight with the airline a day or two before departure,.

Many governments advise against all travel to Sudan. If you have to go, read your government's current advice first, check entry rules with the Sudanese embassy, and keep a backup plan on another carrier, such as a flight via Cairo, Jeddah or Addis Ababa.