Imagine arriving at an airport fully prepared for your trip, only to be told you cannot board because the country you’re flying to suddenly demands a visa you didn’t know existed, and you must pay twice for it. This is the reality for travellers to Hargeisa, Somaliland, caught in Somalia’s politicisation of East African airspace.
Skies Held Hostage
Airspace management should be neutral, technical, and focused on safety. Yet since the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) handed control of the Mogadishu Flight Information Region (FIR) to Somalia in 2018, political agendas have replaced technical priorities.
Somalia lacks operational control over most of the FIR, particularly the northern sector covering Somaliland, and cannot provide Search and Rescue (SAR) services, which are required under ICAO Annex 12. Under Article 28 of the Chicago Convention, any State responsible for air-navigation services must maintain infrastructure for safe operations; communications, meteorology, and SAR. Somalia’s failure leaves vast northern airspace without proper emergency coverage, a serious breach of international safety standards.
Stranded
Travellers flying to Hargeisa now face a Kafkaesque ordeal. Even though Somaliland issues visas on arrival, airlines are requiring a Somalia e-Visa. Passengers are forced to pay $100 for Somalia and another $61 for Somaliland, stranded and frustrated in airports.
This isn’t just bureaucracy. It violates international aviation rules:
By enforcing Somalia’s e-Visa requirement on travellers destined for Somaliland, airlines are complicit in a political game, undermining passengers’ lawful right to travel.
Passenger Rights
Passengers are not just customers; they are the lifeblood of civil aviation. International rules exist precisely to protect them. ICAO Annex 9 (Facilitation) demands uniformity and predictability, while IATA standards ensure transparency and fairness. Arbitrary denials, redundant fees, or misinformation violate these protections, eroding trust in airlines and aviation governance.
The problem goes beyond inconvenience. Political interference in airspace management undermines the principles of safety, neutrality, and lawful facilitation that international aviation depends on. Every passenger stranded, delayed, or misinformed is a warning that these systems are being misused.
Safety and Stability in Peril
The consequences of politicised airspace extend beyond passenger frustration. Passenger confidence is falling. Delays, denied boardings, and double fees discourage travel and tourism. Airlines risk reputational damage. Furthermore, safety oversight is compromised. Decisions driven by politics rather than technical need leave northern airspace uncovered. Without a functioning SAR system, emergencies could have fatal outcomes. Aviation safety relies on coordination, capability, and infrastructure, not political assertion.
Immediate action by ICAO and IATA is essential. They should:
- Review Somalia’s technical compliance with FIR responsibilities under Article 28 and Annexes 9 and 12.
- Correct misleading passenger-entry information in the IATA Timatic system to prevent further denial-of-boarding incidents.
- Reaffirm that civil aviation exists to serve passengers safely and fairly, not enforce political agendas, consistent with ICAO’s “No Country Left Behind (NCLB)” vision.
Air travel should connect people, not punish them. When administrative power is used to control passengers, the credibility of global aviation governance is at stake. Somalia’s politicisation of Somaliland’s airspace and its double-visa policy violate ICAO’s core principles of neutrality, safety, and facilitation. Immediate intervention is needed from ICAO and IATA to protect passengers and restore lawful, apolitical management of East African skies.
Safwaan Farah
Aviation Safety Researcher
