In addition to Sea-Watch, Frontex was also banned from flying in the central Mediterranean by Libyan authorities. Experts consider these to be illegal. Frontex and Airbus assign responsibility to each other.
For ten months last year, an aircraft belonging to the sea rescue organization Sea-Watch was only able to conduct limited reconnaissance after authorities from Tripoli repeatedly banned it from entering the Libyan flight information area in the central Mediterranean. Sea-Watch only resumed flights in January and has remained unhrmed ever since.
Frontex was also affected by such bans in six cases. This is according to a Frontex response to a parliamentary question by MEP Özlem Demirel. It also states that the order was ignored twice.
On January 24 and February 11, 2022, Frontex drones have changed their route after being ordered to do so from Libya, according to the statement. Also on February 11, February 23, and twice on September 7, the order had affected crewed aircraft, it said. In the first two cases, Libyan air traffic control had requested advance permission to enter the country, after which the pilots turned away, the report said. On Sept. 7, Libyan air traffic controllers had warned against flying into their control area “without giving any reason.” “In the absence of justification,” however, the Frontex aircraft continued the planned flights “without being warned again.”
In flight information areas over the high seas, the respective littoral states must provide an information service and an alert service for aircraft of other states. Unlike over their territory, governments cannot issue orders there – as they cannot in their maritime rescue zones. This is confirmed by the German Professor Elmar Giemulla, who specializes in air law, in response to an inquiry from “nd”. According to this, Libya may also not prohibit Sea-Watch and Frontex from flying. This is also the view of the Scientific Services of the German Bundestag, which published an expert opinion on the issue.
The reasons for the instructions from Libya are not known. It is possible that the coast guard, which is known for human rights violations against refugees, did not want to be observed during its operations. On February 11, 2022 alone, Libyan units intercepted three boats and returned the passengers to the country. In two cases, the patrol ship “Ubari,” donated from Italy, is said to have been used in the process. In the other case, a ship of the “Stability Support Apparatus” was deployed. The unit was founded in 2021 by a notorious militia leader and is officially under the control of the government.
Frontex contracts private operators for its own aerial reconnaissance. Aircraft are chartered from the British DEA, for example; the company specializes in missions for “information, surveillance and reconnaissance” and also flies for EU military missions – sometimes with the same aircraft used for Frontex.
Drone flights are ordered by Frontex from Airbus. The Bremen-based group’s defense division is currently fulfilling two Frontex contracts in Malta and Crete, each with a large military drone “Heron 1” from Israel. In the two countries, the drones are registered to the local air force. But Airbus technicians take off, fly and land the drones and are responsible for transmitting the reconnaissance data.
The operators of the drones and aircraft contracted by Frontex also provide the “Pilots in Command.” They are responsible for compliance with all regulations governing the conduct of flight operations and thus also decide whether flight bans are followed or disregarded.
However, the companies do not answer questions about this. The British DEA did not respond to an email from “nd.” Airbus had forwarded the inquiry to Frontex “in accordance with our communication agreement with Frontex” and declined to comment.
However, the ominous flight bans cannot be clarified via proper press inquiries. Frontex simply replied to “nd”: “However, in cases where there was a lack of justification of such a request from the Libyan authorities, the planes continued their flights and did not comply with the request.”
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: The Frontex Center for Aerial Surveillance with web applications and giveaways from DEA (Frontex).
