Emirates is suspending its flights to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Thursday and Friday, saying passengers with Khartoum as their final destination will not be accepted for travel until 23 October from any point on the Emirates network.

The deteriorating security situation in Khartoum is deterring Emirates

The Dubai-based airline did not specify why they hit the pause button for two days, but other airlines are also temporarily halting flights to Khartoum amid a deteriorating security situation there.

Emirates flies a daily return Boeing 777-300ER service between its Dubai hub and Khartoum. EK733 is the flight to Khartoum and EK734 is the return service to Dubai. Emirates only resumed flying to Sudan in March after suspending flights due to COVID-19.

Earlier this week, the US Embassy in Khartoum issued an alert about protests planned on Thursday.

"Demonstrations are expected to take place on Thursday, October 21, 2021," the alert read. "Exact start times and locations are unknown but will likely be widespread throughout Khartoum, as well as in other states. Demonstrations may result in road closures and have the potential to escalate."

Pro-military Sudanese protesters want Sudan’s post-dictatorship interim government dissolved. Last month, the Sudanese Government said it had stymied an attempted coup it blamed on some Sudanese military figures linked to the former regime. The protests on Thursday coincide with the anniversary of Sudan’s 1964 revolution. Organizers are expecting big crowds.

"Following an attempted coup on 21 September 2021, there is a heightened risk that the situation in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan can change rapidly. Political protests take place regularly and can turn violent," a UK Government security advisory states.

Low-cost flydubai, like Emirates owned by the Dubai Government, has also canceled its flights to Khartoum over Thursday and Friday.

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Protests another blow for Sudan's spluttering aviation scene

The arrivals board at Khartoum International Airport shows Yemenia, Ethiopian Airlines, flynas, Egyptair, Saudia, Air Arabia, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Afriqiyah Airways all scheduled to fly into Khartoum over the next two days in addition to local airlines.

The rolling protests are a blow for Sudan's aviation scene after years of mismanagement by the now-ousted decades-long regime of Omar al-Bashir. The departure of al-Bashir from the scene resulted in the US recently lifting sanctions on the country, putting some fresh life into aviation in Sudan.

There are ambitions to turn Khartoum International Airport into an aviation hub, repeating what Ethiopian Airlines has done with Addis Ababa Airport. Before COVID-19, Khartoum International was handling nearly four million passengers annually and was Sudan's biggest and busiest airport.

Before it was run into the ground, Sudan Airways was a dominant carrier in the region. Its virtual collapse helped facilitate growth at rival airlines like Ethiopian. Now free of sanctions, the beleaguered airline is turning to Lufthansa’s consulting arm to help it restructure and possibly restore the airline to its former glory.

But an uncertain security situation in Sudan's capital may undermine this and deter international airlines from Khartoum for more than two days.