SOS MEDITERRANEE / Tess Barthes
Marseille, 6 November 2025 — SOS MEDITERRANEE, in partnership with Humanitarian Pilots Initiative (HPI), is expanding its scope of action with the launch of an aerial observation mission. The Albatross mission will start with its first flights in November 2025, with the objective of monitoring boats in distress and documenting violations of maritime and humanitarian law in the central Mediterranean.
This first phase will allow the teams to implement operational procedures and technical capacities before the start of regular flights in early 2026. The team onboard will consist of three crew, supported by a ground team. SOS MEDITERRANEE will oversee operational coordination, while HPI, a Swiss-based NGO specialised in humanitarian aerial operations, will manage the aeronautical aspects and bring their strong experience in monitoring flights over the central Mediterranean.
“After nearly a decade of operations in this stretch of sea, we know how essential aerial support is,” said Soazic Dupuy, Director of Operations at SOS MEDITERRANEE. “With Albatross, we are joining other civil airborne assets like Seabird and Colibri to make sure that the humanitarian situation in the central Mediterranean is not left unseen. As state rescue coordination has nearly ceased, with distress alerts shared by the Italian authorities dropping from over 50% in 2016–2017 to barely 1% in recent years, NGO aircraft and civil society networks like Alarm Phone have become crucial to spotting boats in distress. A single plane can cover an immense stretch of sea, documenting humanitarian violations that would otherwise remain invisible,” she added.
In 2024, civil aerial assets were active on average only 15 days per month, a 15% decrease compared to 2023. In 2025, civilian aircrafts had to suspend missions due to administrative restrictions or lack of funding, further reducing an already skeleton humanitarian presence over the central Mediterranean.
Tess Barthes / SOS MEDITERRANEE
In 2024, civil aerial assets were active on average only 15 days per month, a 15% decrease compared to 2023. In 2025, civilian aircrafts had to suspend missions due to administrative restrictions or lack of funding, further reducing the humanitarian presence over the central Mediterranean. “Men, women, and children are being abandoned at sea for political and ideological reasons. Our aircraft makes a difference whenever they take flight, by gathering evidence, creating accountability, and protecting vulnerable people against assaults on their basic rights. That’s why we fly. And that’s why partnering with SOS MEDITERRANEE is the right thing to do,” Omar El Manfalouty, CEO of the Humanitarian Pilots Initiative, concluded.
A new independent observer, documenting human rights violations in the central Mediterranean.
Over the summer, the EU funded Libyan Coast Guard attacked the Ocean Viking while Patrolling in International waters, putting survivors and crew at risk. Only a few weeks after, the rescue vessel Sea Watch 5 was also shot at. These incidents are part of a wider, alarming pattern of violations against people in distress at sea, including forced pushbacks, denial of rescue, and violence. They highlight the dangerous context in which civil rescue organisations operate, and the urgent need for independent observation and documentation. “While states turn away from their obligations of rescuing people in distress without delay, our new airborne mission will help document what happens at sea and to help hold governments accountable,” said Soazic Dupuy. In a context where European and Italian authorities are imposing increasingly restrictive measures against civil sea rescue efforts, the space for humanitarian action continues to shrink. These policies are directly contributing to the ongoing tragedy of mass drownings in the central Mediterranean. The Albatross mission represents more than an aircraft — it is a lifeline, a witness, and a call for accountability. The current funding for our aerial operation covers only the first months of the mission; we need public support to continue. Every contribution helps us keep watching over the central Mediterranean.
