C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000184

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C, IO/T AND EB/TRA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2016
TAGS: EAIR PGOV PREL BE KY RW
SUBJECT: GOR GROUNDS SN BRUSSELS PASSANGER PLANE


Classified By: Political Officer G Learned. Reason 1.4 (d)


1. (U) On 21 February the Rwandan Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA) grounded an SN Brussels Airlines passenger plane for
violating saftey standards. Flight 463, from Kigali to
Brussels with one stop in Nairobi, had over 200 passengers,
including at least two Amcits. The CAA claimed:
-- The safety belts in the cockpit did not have an inspection
date properly displayed; and
-- The plane was leaking fluid.
SN Brussels has reported to the Belgian Embassy that the
infractions were minor and were all addressed and resolved
immediately after the CAA made the citations. An SN Brussels
representative in Kigali has stated that several meetings
were scheduled with the CAA president to resolve the issues
but CAA officials consistently showed up several hours late
to the meetings and said that the problems were under review
without offering a timeline for resolution.


2. (C) According to the Belgian poloff on 24 February, there
has been regular contact between the Belgian Ambassador and
Foreign Minister Murigande since the incident began.
Additionally, the pressure from Brussels has escalated with
calls from the Belgian Foreign Ministry on 22 and 23 February
and a call from the Belgian Prime Minister to FM Murigande on
23 February. According to the Belgian DATT, a scheduled visit
by the Belgian Defense Minister to Rwanda was canceled on
February 24 due directly to this incident.


3. (C) The Belgians are adamant that there are no technical
problems with the plane and suspect the reason for the
grounding is a tit-for-tat move in response to a Belgian
Aviation Authority decision in August 2005 barring a
Rwandan-based Silverback Airlines cargo flight from departing
Brussels due to technical problems with the aircraft. (Note.
Belgian poloff did not know who owns Silverback Airlines. End
note.)


4. (U) The next SN Brussels flight from Brussels to Kigali is
due to arrive in Kigali on 25 February. If this incident has
not been resolved by then, Belgian officials are predicting
that the flight would land in Nairobi and not continue on to
Rwanda. Passengers booked through to Kigali would need to
debark and take another flight. It is unclear how this would
be handled administratively.


4. (C) Comment. Belgian Emboffs report that the level of
frustration in Brussels is high and that, in addition to the
cancellation of the Defense Minister's trip, repercussions
may include an EU or Belgian demarche protesting the handling
of the issue by the GOR. It is unclear why the GOR would
continue to take a hard line on this issue as the reasons
given for grounding the plane do not appear to further
Rwanda's interests and seemingly outweigh any positive
benefits to the GOR.
ARIETTI