Overview

• The order, based on an October 2024 decree, marks ENAC’s first use of its power to ground private search-and-rescue aircraft after a single infraction.
• ENAC cited unspecified breaches during a June 30 reconnaissance mission without providing further details on the alleged procedural lapses.
• Sea-Watch called the grounding a pretext for obstructing its aid work and announced plans to pursue a legal challenge.
• The NGO will sustain its aerial monitoring of central Mediterranean crossings by rotating its two remaining Seabird planes while Seabird 1 is grounded.
• Sea-Watch aircraft logged 151 missions and over 845 flight hours in 2024, spotting 221 vessels carrying roughly 11,000 migrants in distress.