Freight expectations for Somali cargo sector

Full article in PDF format: page 14-16 & cover

While impressive strides have been taken to rehabilitate and grow its economy, Somalia will be heavily dependent on imports for many years to come. That makes cargo a lifeline for the country, bringing humanitarian aid, perishable food and reconstruction materials into the Horn of Africa from around the world.

Kenya’s Astral Aviation is by far the largest player in the Somali air cargo market, having launched scheduled once-weekly flights from Nairobi to Mogadishu in 2012 with a Boeing McDonnell-Douglas DC-9 freighter capable of carrying 15 tonnes. A second frequency was added last year, and chief executive Sanjeev Gadhia expects a third flight to begin in November alongside a new scheduled link to Hargeisa...

Turkish Airlines returns to Mogadishu

Full article in PDF format

Turkish Airlines resumed flying to Mogadishu in May after a three-month hiatus caused by the bombing of Daallo Airlines Flight 159 – an attack that, according to officials, was likely aimed at Turkey’s flag-carrier.

The on-board explosion on 2 February killed only the suspected suicide bomber as Flight 159 had not reached cruising altitude and therefore did not have a fully pressurised cabin. Although Somali-owned Daallo was targeted in the attack, the assailant had purchased a Turkish Airlines ticket and only switched planes due to a flight cancellation.

Speaking to The Somalia Investor at a meeting of airline executives in Dublin in June, Temel Kotil, chief executive of Turkish Airlines, declined to comment on the circumstances of the bombing but promised to redouble his flag-carrier’s commitment to Mogadishu...

Somali skies darken

Full article in PDF format

Anywhere else in the world, the bombing of an international passenger flight would attract round-the-clock media coverage and a global manhunt for the perpetrators.

In Somalia, however, more than two decades of brutal civil war have desensitised both the domestic population and the outside world to mass-casualty atrocities. Amid a seemingly endless cycle of indiscriminate violence in the country, even the deadliest terror attacks fail to hold the attention of the press.

So it was in January, when upwards of 100 Kenyan troops stationed in Somalia were killed in an attack on their army base by Al Shabaab, the Al Qaeda-linked terror group.

And so it was again on 2nd February, when a suicide bomber evaded security screening at Mogadishu Airport and exploded his device aboard Daallo Airlines Flight 159 to Djibouti...

Interview: Mohamed Guled, Somali Airlines CEO

Full article in PDF format

Somali Airlines seemed poised to make a triumphant return to the skies in November 2013, when a Boeing 737-400 painted in the flag-carrier's distinctive blue livery was photographed in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Somali government officials confirmed at the time that the national carrier, which ceased operations in 1991, was about to make a comeback.

Despite the encouraging signs, however, weeks gradually turned into months and the aircraft failed to make its much-anticipated debut in Mogadishu. It was subsequently purchased by Spain's Swiftair and converted into a freighter, dashing any hopes of the flag-carrier's imminent re-birth.

While the false-start was disheartening, Somali aviation experts continue to talk of resurrecting their cherished national icon. Mohamed Mohamud Guled, the airline's longstanding President and Chief Executive, is the man overseeing these efforts...

Somalia works to reclaim control of its skies

Full article in PDF format

The collapse of Somalia's central government in 1991 left the State unable to provide even the most basic services, so it should come as no surprise that the complex task of airspace management has long been handled by outsiders.

Controlling the safe movement of aircraft into, out of and over a country's skies is not merely a domestic affair. Events such as the July 2014 shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine underscore how foreigners can be gravely affected by sub-standard domestic protocols. Somalia, in particular, with its precarious security climate and long history of airborne catastrophes, is considered a high-risk country by commercial airlines.

Little wonder that since 1993 the United Nations (UN) has had overall responsibility for the country's skies...

Strength in numbers

Full article in PDF format

The steady influx of foreign airlines to Somali skies is proof positive of rising optimism about the country’s prospects, but while Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and flydubai have only recently seen opportunity in Somalia, its home-grown carriers have been keeping vital air corridors open for decades.

Three local operators – African Express Airways, Daallo Airlines and Jubba Airways – still account for about three-quarters of all scheduled flights in the country, and with competition heating up the latter two have now joined forces to create the Africa Aero Alliance (AAA).

“Competitive pressure is there, but also more than that it’s a matter of maturity,” explains Mohammed Ibrahim Yassin (Olad), the Chief Executive and co-founder of Daallo, which also serves as the official flag-carrier of Djibouti...

Somalia's friend in the sky

Full article in PDF format

The visit to Mogadishu by Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in January heralded welcome news for Somalia’s battered but resilient aviation sector.

After landing in the capital to inaugurate the newly-constructed terminal at Aden Adde International Airport, President Erdogan announced that Turkish Airlines will boost its Istanbul-Djibouti-Mogadishu service from four-times weekly to daily. That crucial route serves as a lifeline for members of the diaspora, enabling connecting flights to their adoptive countries in Europe and North America.

But while Turkey’s engagement with Somalia has to date focussed on humanitarian assistance – President Erdogan first visited Mogadishu in August 2011, at the height of the East Africa drought – the decision to lift flight frequencies was in no way a charitable gesture...