The Syrian airline Cham Wings is once again suspected of being involved in smuggling networks. The airline is to fly refugees from Syria to Libya.
So far this year, 383 people have died attempting to reach Europe by sea. According to estimates by the Federal Statistical Office, more than 26,000 refugees have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since 2014.
The number of people from Bangladesh who dare the dangerous escape across the Mediterranean has been increasing for years. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Bangladeshis account for around 15 percent of all arrivals in the Mediterranean, making them the third most common nationality.
Syrian airline Cham Wings is said to be involved in smuggling flights
The Syrian airline Cham Wings currently plays a central role. The airline is to fly refugees, primarily from Bangladesh and Syria, from Damascus to Benghazi, reports Malta Today. According to the aviation data portal CH-Aviation, the airline owns three A320. All machines are around 30 years old.
The city in the east of the country is controlled by internationally unrecognized groups. The dangerous journey in boats across the Mediterranean then starts from Benghazi. According to those rescued, the smuggler networks demand around 1,500 euros for the way to Europe.
The EU has already blacklisted the airline
Cham Wings has already attracted attention in connection with the transport of refugees. In the winter of 2021, she is said to have flown migrants from the Middle East to Belarus who were stuck in the border area for days trying to get to Poland or Estonia. The whole thing is said to have been orchestrated by the Belarusian regime as a means of exerting pressure on the EU.
The EU then blacklisted the airline. This means that the airline is not allowed to fly to the EU. Cham Wings was removed from the list again last summer. The airline has failed in its attempt to obtain an EU Third Country Operator (TCO) accreditation.
Because of this, its owner, the Syrian businessman Issam Shammout, has been put on the EU sanctions list. Shammout helped recruit mercenaries for Russia to fight in the Ukraine war. Shammout, on the other hand, is taking legal action before the European Court of Justice. The US has also imposed sanctions on the airline.
This article was written by Benjamin Recklies
