Sudan Railways withdrew from the airline's management in 1949; the government and Airwork continued running the company thereafter.
There was such a demand for flying that the toilets on the Doves were removed to make room for more seats, with these aircraft even carrying passengers in the cockpit.
[4] Flown with Austers and Doves, by March 1953 (1953-03) the carrier was operating a domestic network that was 4,800 kilometres (3,000 mi) long.
[4] Also in 1953, the Chadian city of Abeche was made part of the route network, whereas regular flights to Jeddah were launched in June 1954 (1954-06).
[7] In 1958, after taking office, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decided to expand the carrier's international operations.
[7] Comets commenced flying the ″Blue Nile″ service in January 1963 (1963-01); that year, the frequency was again increased to operate three times a week.
[17] By March 1970 (1970-03), the route network totaled 20,715 kilometres (12,872 mi), with international destinations including Aden, Addis Ababa, Asmara, Athens, Beirut, Cairo, Entebbe, Fort Lamy, Jeddah, London, Nairobi and Rome.
By this time, the airline provided scheduled services to Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Al Ain, Amman, Bangui, Cairo, Damascus, Doha, Dongola, Dubai, El Fasher, El Obeid, Eldebba, Geneina, Istanbul, Jeddah, Juba, Kano, Lagos, London, Malakal, Merowe, Muscat, Ndjamena, Niamey, Nyala, Paris, Port Sudan, Riyadh, Sanaa, Sharjah, Tripoli, Wadi Halfa and Wau.
[3] In the wake of the crash of Flight 109, in June 2008 (2008-06) the airline was grounded following an indefinite suspension of its operating certificate by the Sudanese government,[27][28][29] despite the fact that it was stated as not being in connection with the accident.
[31][32] In 2017, it was announced that the Sudanese President Omar al Bashir signed several cooperation agreements with King Salman of Saudi Arabia during a visit to Riyadh.
It was reported Saudi Arabia may equip the Sudan Airways with fourteen aircraft including three B777s, three A320-200s, six Embraer Regional Jets, and two A330-200s.
[34] In late March 2010 (2010-03), all Sudan-based airlines were banned by the European Union (EU) from flying into or within the member states.
[90] The worst accident experienced by the company took place in July 2003 (2003-07) near Port Sudan, when 117 people lost their lives on an emergency landing.