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Hijacked Skies: How Somaliland’s Aviation Ministry Surrendered its Airspace Sovereignty to Mogadishu

HARGEISA (August 14, 2026) In a blistering and highly detailed critique, Abdikarim Ali Barjeex, a seasoned aviation expert and the former Secretary of Aviation for the Waddani Party, has exposed a series of catastrophic administrative failures within the government of President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Cirro). Focusing specifically on the Ministry of Aviation and Airports Development, Barjeex argues that the current administration has stood by silently while the Federal Government of Somalia systematically encroaches upon and compromises Somaliland’s airspace sovereignty.


The expert points to a deliberate, sequential campaign by Mogadishu to weaponize international aviation regulations against Hargeisa. By imposing restrictive mandates on international carriers flying into Somaliland, Somalia has actively undermined the nation's independence. Meanwhile, the Somaliland government has failed to mount any meaningful diplomatic or administrative defense to protect its territorial integrity and the rights of its citizens.


Hijacked Skies: Aviation Expert Details Mogadishu's Airspace Inroads and Hargeisa's Inaction | Gallaydh.com


The critical vulnerabilities highlighted by Barjeeh include the following points:


  1. The Digital Erasure of Somaliland

In previous years, passengers booking tickets online with major international carriers such as flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines would see their final destination proudly listed as "Hargeisa, Somaliland." However, the Federal Government of Somalia recently issued a strict directive commanding all airlines operating in the region to erase the name "Somaliland" from their booking systems and replace it with "Somalia."


Rather than facing pushback from Hargeisa, the directive was implemented seamlessly. Both flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines immediately complied, altering their digital infrastructure so that the destination now reads "Hargeisa, Somalia." This is not a mere clerical change; it is a blatant digital erasure of the Republic of Somaliland's statehood on the international stage.


The Somaliland Ministry of Aviation should have held these airlines accountable for violating the nation's sovereign identity. Unfortunately, the Ministry took absolutely no definitive action to block or challenge this mandate, allowing the geopolitical erasure to take full effect without a fight.

  1. Surrendering Passenger Manifests

Following the digital name change, Mogadishu escalated its overreach by demanding that flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines submit official copies of their Passenger Manifests for all flights destined for Hargeisa.


These international carriers instantly complied with the federal order from Somalia, bypassing any consultation or notification with the Somaliland Ministry of Aviation. As a result, Somalia was granted unfettered, unauthorized access to the private travel data of Somaliland citizens. In an astonishing display of bureaucratic paralysis, the Somaliland Ministry of Aviation remained completely silent, allowing the mandate to become a standard operational procedure.

3. The National Security Threat: Handing Over API Data

The encroachment reached a critical threshold when Somalia demanded that airlines transmit Advance Passenger Information (API) for all travelers heading to Hargeisa. API data is collected at the check-in counter and includes highly sensitive personal details: full legal names, nationalities, passport numbers, dates of issuance and expiration, dates and places of birth, and current residential addresses.


In standard global aviation practice, this data is transmitted to the destination country's immigration, airport management, and intelligence services to screen passengers before they land. By forcing airlines to route this data through Mogadishu, the personal information of every individual flying into Hargeisa is now being handed directly to Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).


There is absolutely no logical or legal justification for the private data of passengers traveling to Somaliland to be intercepted by a foreign intelligence apparatus. This constitutes a severe national security threat and leaves Somaliland citizens vulnerable to surveillance and profiling. Shockingly, the Ministry of Aviation failed to intervene, allowing this grave security breach to continue unabated.

4. The Extortionate $30 Airport Development Tax

Mogadishu did not stop at data collection. The Federal Government of Somalia recently imposed a $30 "Airport Development Fee" on every passenger departing from Hargeisa to Mogadishu, as well as those flying the reverse route. The stated purpose of this fee is to fund the construction and renovation of airports located in Somalia.


This tax is automatically tacked onto the price of the flight ticket, collected by the airlines, and then remitted directly to the federal treasury in Mogadishu. The Somaliland Ministry of Aviation is fully aware of this financial extortion, yet it has taken no measures to halt it. Consequently, Somaliland citizens are actively being taxed to subsidize infrastructure in a country they do not belong to, while their own aviation authorities watch from the sidelines.

5. The Weaponization of Visas and the Humiliation of the Diaspora

Capitalizing on its successful regulatory stranglehold, Somalia introduced an electronic visa (e-visa) system and strictly instructed all airlines serving Somaliland to deny boarding to any foreign passport holder who has not paid the $60 fee. Shortly thereafter, Mogadishu rolled out an Electronic Travel Authorisation System (eTAS). Under this draconian system, even passengers holding a valid visa can be arbitrarily blocked from boarding their flights at their departure gates.


This bureaucratic weaponization has disproportionately targeted the Somaliland diaspora holding foreign passports. Countless citizens returning to their homeland have found themselves stranded in transit hubs like Dubai and Addis Ababa.


This crisis carries heavy economic, security, and cultural consequences. It places an unmerited financial burden on the diaspora, constitutes a direct assault on the sovereignty of Somaliland, and actively discourages foreign nationals and expatriates from visiting the country. In response to this mounting crisis, the Somaliland Ministry of Aviation has offered nothing but ineffectual letters and empty press conferences.


Last week, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was lavishly celebrating "Diaspora Week," I, along with many other diaspora members who refused to submit to the Somali e-visa, were forced to travel overland through the Addis Ababa, Jigjiga, and Wajaale route. We faced grueling blockades and humiliating searches at a national border, all while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted celebratory galas in the air-conditioned halls of the Serena Hotel. The irony is bitter and inescapable.


When this systematic dismantling of our airspace sovereignty was taking place, was the opposition in charge of the country? No, the current administration was at the helm. The Ministry of Aviation must urgently correct its course. The public voted for real, decisive change and visionary leadership, not silent capitulation.

About the Author:

Abdikarim Ali Barjeex is a Senior Aviation Expert and the owner of the Sky Aviation Consultant institute. He previously served as the Secretary of Aviation and Airspace for the Waddani Party.

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