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Que risquent les avions marocains s’ils violent l’espace aérien algérien?
L’interdiction par l’Algérie du survol de son espace aérien aux avions marocains implique la mise en œuvre d’une procédure de police de l’air en cas de violation. L’armée algérienne pourrait engager des avions de combat pour obliger ces...
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What Risk Do Moroccan Planes Take If They Violate Algerian Airspace?
18:18 23.09.2021
Algeria's ban on Moroccan planes overflighting its airspace implies the implementation of an air police procedure in the event of a violation. The Algerian army could hire fighter jets to force these now hostile planes out of airspace or even land in an emergency.
In the wake of the severance of diplomatic relations with Morocco, Algeria decided, Wednesday, September 22, 2021, to close its airspace to planes from its western neighbor. The measure, with immediate effect, was adopted at a meeting of the High Security Council chaired by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
"The meeting of the High Security Council was devoted to examining the developments at the borders with the Kingdom of Morocco, with regard to the continuation of provocations and hostile practices on the Moroccan side. The High Security Council decided to immediately close it down. Algerian airspace to all Moroccan civil and military aircraft as well as to those bearing a Moroccan registration number, from this day forward, "said a statement from the HCS.
CN prefix
The statement does not specify the reasons behind this exceptional ban which makes Morocco the second country to be banned from flying over Algeria after Israel. Is it possible that the Algerian government took this decision to avoid any attempt to intrude an Israeli plane registered in Morocco into its airspace, while cooperation between Rabat and Tel Aviv continues to strengthen?
Still, according to the press release from the High Security Council, this measure concerns all aircraft that carry a "Moroccan registration number", therefore with the prefix CN issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), even if they are the property of persons or companies of nationality other than Moroccan.
Located in the north of the continent, Algeria is a country difficult to circumvent due to its large area, especially for Morocco which is almost "landlocked" in the extreme west of North Africa. It took very little time for this ban to come into effect, according to what was noted by "spotters", taken up by several media. According to these various sources, the last Moroccan plane to have flown over Algerian airspace would be a Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner providing the link between Istanbul and Casablanca.
And the first plane to avoid entering Algerian skies is said to be a Cessna 650 Citation VII owned by Moroccan jet charter company Sarah Airways. After taking off from Tunis, the jet should have made a U-turn to then go back north and cross the Mediterranean and land at an airport near Rabat.
Concretely, what risks the crew of a Moroccan plane if they defy this ban? Contacted by Sputnik, a retired Algerian officer said, on condition of anonymity, that the "Moroccan planes now classified as hostile" will be immediately chased by the Algerian army's combat aircraft.
"There is a code of procedure for planes banned from flying over airspace. These are very strict rules of engagement. Air defense takes the aircraft by radar and then orders the dispatch of interceptor planes which take charge of 'invite the crew to leave the airspace immediately. If the plane continues its overflight, it is forced to land. But the operation can go as far as warning shots if it persists, "notes the source of Sputnik .
A mission for the MiG-25
In Algeria, the air police come under the command of the Territorial Air Defense Forces, which has a fleet of interceptors, including MiG-29s and also the famous MiG-25s. Acquired in the late 1970s, the MiG-25s have been modernized and are still in service in Algeria.
The same source indicates that the pilots of Algerian and Moroccan interceptor planes know each other well since they participated for several years "in the Circaète air security exercises organized by the 5 + 5 Defense Initiative which brings together the countries of the two shores of the Western Mediterranean ". "Moreover, the severance of diplomatic relations with Morocco blocks all actions within this military cooperation group," added the Algerian officer.