News

Airborne Quarterly Factsheet January to March 2024

Download Full Report   This factsheet outlines a summary of the distress cases witnessed January – March 2024 by Airborne with Seabird 1 and Seabird 2.1 In January – March we conducted 40 operations, with a total flight time of 205 hours and 38 minutes. We spotted around 2.755 persons in distress aboard 47 different…

Details

EU Court: Frontex wrongfully withholds evidence

Today, Wednesday, the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled in the Sea-Watch v Frontex case. While failing to establish transparency and accountability, the Court found that Frontex wrongfully kept more than 100 photos secret. These could prove the border agency’s involvement in a human rights violation in the Mediterranean. In April 2022, Sea-Watch, with…

Details

Sea-Watch vs. Frontex

On Wednesday, the 24th of April 2024, the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled in the Sea-Watch v Frontex case. While failing to establish transparency and accountability, the Court found that Frontex wrongfully kept more than 100 photos secret. These could prove the border agency’s involvement in a human rights violation in…

Details

Italy escalates obstruction of civil search and rescue

Within the last week, the Italian government has detained three NGO rescue ships flying the German flag. The Humanity 1, the Sea-Watch 5 and the Sea-Eye 4 are being prevented from carrying out their life-saving work on the basis of false accusations. For the first time, the Italian government has blocked one of the ships,…

Details

Rescue ship Sea-Watch 5 detained

Following the rescue of 56 people from distress at sea in international waters on March 6, Italian authorities have detained the Sea-Watch 5 for 20 days. Previously, a 17-year-old boy died on board after Italy, Malta, and Tunisia refused to evacuate him. 4 other people in critical condition were only brought to the Italian mainland…

Details