Somalia targets September return for Somali Airlines after 35 years
After several delayed relaunch plans, Somalia has said its flag carrier, Somali Airlines, is set to resume operations in September – more than 35 years after suspending services.
The announcement marks the latest milestone in long-running efforts to revive the airline, following the government’s acquisition of two Airbus A320s as part of its planned return to service.
Somalia set to revive Somali Airlines after three decades
The Somali news outlet, Hiiraan, has reported that Somalia’s national airline, Somali Airlines, is poised to resume flights in September 2026. The airline has not operated for 35 years since the Somali Civil War of 1991, the overthrow of President Siad Barre, and the collapse of the country’s central government.
Hiiraan wrote, “Ahmed Moalin, director of the Somali Civil Aviation Authority, said Saturday that preparations to relaunch the carrier had been completed and that flights were expected to begin next month.”
Somali Airlines was established in 1964, four years after independence, and operated until the collapse in 1991.
Since then, the country has had more of a clan-based power-sharing system, with regional governments in Puntland and Jubbaland often at odds with the central government.
AGN reported in 2025 on a crisis in which the central government denied regional government delegations permission to land. Somaliland declared independence in 1991.
What aircraft will the revived Somalia Airlines operate?
The central Somali government announced it had acquired two Airbus A320s in July 2025 as part of efforts to relaunch the national airline. Somali officials have previously spoken of adding another two to three more aircraft at a later date.
Hiiraan adds, “The government has previously announced plans to revive Somali Airlines but missed earlier targets for restarting operations.”
At the time, the Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, Mohamed Farah Nuuh, said it would start operating within two months.
When this didn’t happen, the transport ministry said in October 2025 that Somali Airlines would commence services by the end of the year. Somalia previously said it would revive the airline in 2023.
While the two aircraft Somalia has reportedly acquired have been identified as A320-200s, it is unclear what their registrations are and who they are being purchased from.
In July 2025, ch-aviation reported, “The government said it acquired the aircraft from Lima Holding Group. ch-aviation was not able to independently verify the identity of the lessor or the aircraft.”
🚨Breaking: A passenger plane of a Somali airline crashed on the shore of the Indian Ocean
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 10, 2026
The landing on the shallow water was rough, with one of the wings literally torn off, but there was no fire.
Everyone is alive, and no one was injured.
There were 55 people on board.… pic.twitter.com/2ofF1Y1oS3
Meanwhile, the central Somali government has laid the foundation stone for a new airport at Mahay that will eventually replace the one at Mogadishu. The new airport is expected to have an initial capacity of eight million passengers annually and commence operations by the end of the decade.
Which airlines currently fly to Somalia?
Currently, Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport is served by international airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines.
While the national airline has not operated since 1991, there have been Somali airlines operating, including some based in other countries.
Jubba Airways is a Somali-origin carrier whose principal/corporate base is in Nairobi, Kenya, although it maintains a branch in Mogadishu. Daallo is another small private Somali airline that was founded in Djibouti in 1991 and now has offices including Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Nairobi.
