Italy bars NGO migrant rescue flights from Sicilian airport, says they interfere with coast guard

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Italy’s aviation authority has barred humanitarian migrant rescue groups from using a Sicilian airport to launch search and rescue flights over the Mediterranean.An ordinance from ENAC’s western Sicilian office said the flights interfered with the Italian coast guard’s exclusive role in coordinating search and rescue efforts and put migrant lives at risk. Non-governmental rescue groups that continue using the Lampedusa, Sicily airport risk unspecified fines and their aircraft may be seized. The ordinance marked a new effort by the government of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni to crack down on migration from North Africa. That was a key campaign promise that brought her right-wing coalition to power in 2022.