Aerial view of Juba International Airport | File photo

The Civil Aviation Authority has urged companies that have abandoned their planes at Juba International Airport to remove them within 21 days or risk being confiscated.

At least 10 planes remain parked at the airport for years.

The South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority says these are no longer planes but “scraps” that are occupying the airport space for nothing and must be removed.

In a written order seen by Eye Radio, the authority appeals to airline companies to immediately remove their aircraft.

The statement also states that each company is to pay $50 per day as parking fee.

It warned that failure to comply with the order, any loss or confiscation will not be its responsibility.

“They have to relocate them or just cut them into pieces and take it away so that we use the land that they are occupying,” stated Kur Kuol, director of Juba International Airport.

‘Illogical decision’

Responding to the order, the chairman of South Sudan Aviation Association who owns South Sudan Supreme Airlines says he is wondering whether the airport authorities are suggesting that they take the planes to their homes.

“The decision of civil aviation about our planes is not logical, because the planes are not parked at home or house but at airports,” protested Ayii Duang.

He instead accused the Civil Aviation Authority of failing to build a hangar at the Juba International Airport

“You cannot tell the owners to come and take the planes. What I know that, it is the responsibility of the civil aviation…..to build a hangar for the planes that need maintenance. This is a core responsibility of civil aviation authority.”