Egyptair fined $140,000 for Sudan Airways leases

EgyptAir (MS, Cairo Int'l) has been fined USD140,000 by the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for violating a US trade embargo against Sudan between 2010 and 2011.

The BIS said in a statement that Egyptair had leased two B737-500s to Sudan Airways (SD, Khartoum) over the period August 2010 to February 2011 without having sought the required licences as required under Executive Orders 13067 and 13412. As a result, the Egyptian carrier must now pay the US Department of Commerce USD140,000 in four instalments of USD35,000 by November 1, 2016. Failure to pay the fine may result in the BIS revoking Egyptair's export privileges for a period of one year, the Bureau said.

In retaliation for Khartoum's alleged involvement in international terrorism, the Clinton administration in 1997 instituted a trade embargo against Sudan and issued a total asset freeze against the country's government.

As a government-owned entity, Sudan Airways has borne the brunt of sanctions seeing its once prominent fleet whittled down to a handful of ageing aircraft including three Fokker 50s and two A300-600s. To make up for its inability to source relatively 'new' machinery, Sudan Airways leases in capacity and, at present, leases two A320-200s from YanAir (YE, Kiev Zhulyany), one B737-300 from Jordan Aviation (R5, Amman Queen Alia) and one CRJ-200 from Kenya's Trident Aviation (Nairobi Wilson).

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir last week said Khartoum would acquire an undisclosed number of Chinese aircraft to help replenish the national carrier's fleet.