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| Founded | 5 March 1964 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | July 1964 | |||
| Ceased operations | 1991 | |||
| Hubs | Mogadishu International Airport | |||
| Secondary hubs | Hargeisa International Airport | |||
| Airport lounge | Somali Airlines Lounge | |||
| Company slogan | The White Star Service | |||
| Parent company | Government of Somalia (100%) | |||
| Headquarters | Mogadishu, Somalia | |||
Somali Airlines was the flag carrier of Somalia. Established in 1964, it offered flights to both domestic and international destinations. The airline discontinued operations after the start of the civil war in the early 1990s. A reconstituted Somali government later began preparations in 2012 for an expected relaunch of the carrier.[1]
Contents |
History [edit]
General [edit]
Somali Airlines was founded on 5 March 1964 as the newly independent Somalia's national airline.[2][3] The country's then civilian government and Alitalia owned equal shares in the company,[2] with each holding a 50% controlling stake.[3] According to Somali Airlines' Director at the time, Abdulahi Shireh, the carrier was established primarily to more effectively connect the capital Mogadishu to other regions in the nation.[4] The airline began operations in July 1964, initially serving domestic destinations with a fleet of three DC-3s and two Cessna 180s. In March 1965, the carrier embarked on its first international route, to Aden.[3]
Somali Airlines became a fully state-owned company in 1977.[5]
Due to the outbreak of the civil war in the early 1990s, all of the carrier's operations were officially suspended in 1991.[6][7] The void created by the collapse of the airline has since been filled by various Somali-owned private carriers, such as Jubba Airways, Daallo Airlines and Puntair.[8]
Relaunch [edit]
In April 2012, former Somali Airlines pilots, Abikar Nur and Ahmed Elmi Gure, met with aviation officials at the Lufthansa Flight Training Center in Phoenix, United States, to discuss the possibility of resuming the historic working relationship between Somali Airlines and Lufthansa. The meeting ended with a pledge by the school's chairman, Captain Matthias Kippenberg, to assist the Somali aviation authorities in training prospective pilots.[9]
In July 2012, Mohammed Osman Ali (Dhagah-tur), the General Director of the Ministry of Aviation and Transport, announced that the Somali government had begun preparations to revive the national carrier, Somali Airlines. The Somali authorities along with the Somali Civil Aviation Steering Committee (SCASC) — a joint commission composed of officials from Somalia's federal and regional governments as well as members of the CACAS, ICAO/TCB and UNDP — convened with international aviation groups in Montreal to request support for the ongoing rehabilitation efforts. The SCASC set a three-year window for reconstruction of the national civil aviation capacity. It also requested the complete transfer of Somali civil aviation operations and assets from the CACAS caretaker body to the Somali authorities.[1]
Destinations [edit]
The following is a list of destinations the airline served throughout its history:
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This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Fleet [edit]
Somali Airlines' initial fleet consisted of three Douglas DC-3s or their subtypes, as well as two Cessna 180s.[3] In early 1974, a contract with Tempair for the provision of a Boeing 720B, to be deployed on the Mogadishu–London route, as well as on flights within Africa and to the Middle East, was signed; the agreement effectively came into being in April 1974.[12]:487[13] In late 1975, two Fokker F27s were acquired.[14] In 1976, the company acquired two Boeing 720Bs from American Airlines, the two last ones in service with the American carrier.[15] It also ordered a further two Boeing 707s.[4] By July 1980, the fleet consisted of two Boeing 707-320Cs, two Boeing 720Bs, two Fokker F27-600s, two DC-3s, one Cessna 402 and one Cessna 180.[16]
A firm order for an Airbus A310-300 was placed in late 1987, with an option for another one; the aircraft was aimed at replacing the 707 fleet on routes to Europe and the Middle East.[17]
Historic fleet [edit]
Somali Airlines operated the following equipment all through its history:[18]
Accidents and incidents [edit]
According to Aviation Safety Network, Somali Airlines experienced six events throughout its history; five of the occurrences carried with the hull-loss of the aircraft involved, and three of them had fatalities.[19]
| Date | Location | Aircraft | Tail number | Aircraft damage | Fatalities | Description | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 May 1970 |  Mogadishu |
Viscount 700 | 6O-AAJ | W/O | 5/30 | The aircraft was on final approach to Mogadishu International Airport when control was lost due to a fire that erupted in the cargo hold. Upon a nose-down landing, the nosegear collapsed and the airplane continued rolling on her nose until it came to rest. The fire intensified, eventually engulfing the fuselage and destroying it completely. | [20] |
| 16 August 1975 | Bosaso |
Douglas C-47A | 6O-SAC | W/O | 0/11 | Crashed shortly after takeoff from Bosaso Airport, following a failure on the port engine. | [21][22] |
| 20 July 1981 | Balad |
F-27-600RF | 6O-SAY | W/O | 50/50 | Flight 40 crashed near Balad and burned out, minutes after take-off from Mogadishu International Airport on a domestic scheduled Mogadishu–Hargeisa passenger service. The aircraft encountered severe turbulence on its flightpath when it entered an area of heavy rain and started to dive. The stresses the airframe went through during the dive —up to 5.76 g— exceeded the ones it could possibly withstand, and parts of the starboard wing got detached. | [23][24] |
| 17 May 1989 |  Nairobi |
Boeing 707-320B | 6O-SBT | W/O | 0/70 | Overran the wet runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport following an aborted take-off. | [25] |
| 28 June 1989 | Hargeisa |
F-27-600RF | 6O-SAZ | W/O | 30/30 | Rebels claimed to have shot down the aircraft, that had departed from Hargeisa International Airport bound for Mogadishu, during initial climbout. | [26][27] |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Somalia to revive national airline after 21 years". Laanta. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ a b Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News 114: 32. 1967.
- ^ a b c d e f g "World Airline Survey... – Somali Airlines". Flight International: 601. 15 April 1965. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ a b "African Buyer and Trader". African Development 10: 533. 1976. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "World Airline Directory – Somali Airlines". Flight International: 128. 14 March 1990 – 20 March 1990. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
- ^ World of Information (Firm), Africa Review, (World of Information: 2003), p.299.
- ^ "World airline directory – Somali Airlines". Flight International. 5 April 1995 – 11 April 1995. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
- ^ Somalia Private Carriers
- ^ "Reviving the aviation industry in Somalia". Hiiraan Online. 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ OAG Flight Guide 1991
- ^ "World Airline Directory – Somali Airlines". Flight International: 123. 29 March 1986. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
- ^
- Belson, John (28 February 1976). "Tempair International (page 485)". Flight International: 485 – 488. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- "Tempair International (page 486)". Flight International. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
- "Tempair International (page 487)". Flight International. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
- "Tempair International (page 488)". Flight International. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
- ^ "Somali 720B" (PDF). Flight International: 163. 7 February 1974. Retrieved 9 February 2012. "Tempair International of Windsor has signed an agreement with Somali Airlines to operate a Boeing 720B for the airline for an initial period of 18 months. The aircraft will be operated over a route network linking Mogadishu, the Somali capital, with London, Rome, Cairo, Jeddah, Sana'a, Abu Dhabi and Nairobi."
- ^ "Airliner market" (PDF). Flight International: 555. 16 October 1975. Retrieved 9 February 2012. "Somali Airlines has bought two Fokker-VFW F.27-600s, for delivery by mid-1977"
- ^ "Airliner market" (PDF). Flight International: 1221. 8 May 1976. Retrieved 9 February 2012. "Somali Airlines has bought American Airlines' last two Boeing 720Bs"
- ^ "World airline directory – Somali Airlines" (PDF). Flight International: 352. 26 July 1980. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
- ^ "MARKET PLACE". Flight International: 7. 7 November 1987. Retrieved 19 October 2011. "Somali Airlines has ordered an Airbus A310-300, with an option on one more. The General Electric CF6-80C2 powered aircraft will be delivered in October 1988, and will be used on the airline's routes to Europe and the Middle East, replacing its Boeing 707."
- ^ "SubFleets for: Somali Airlines". AeroTransport Data Bank. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Accident record for Somali Airlines". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ Accident description for 6O-AAJ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2 February 2012.
- ^ Accident description for 6O-SAC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Public-transport accidents" (PDF). Flight International: 514. 9 October 1975. Retrieved 19 October 2011. "A DC-3 of Somali Airlines crashed on August 16 at Bosaso while on a scheduled flight, injuring three crew; the eight passengers were not injured."
- ^ Accident description for 6O-SAY at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Commercial flight safety: 1981 reviewed – FATAL ACCIDENTS: SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLIGHT" (PDF). Flight International: 183. 23 January 1982. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
- ^ Accident description for 6O-SBT at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 30 January 2012.
- ^ Accident description for 6O-SAZ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 30 January 2012.
- ^ "The complacent year–safety 1989—COMMERCIAL FLIGHT SAFETY – FATAL OCCURRENCES INVOLVING SABOTAGE, HIJACK OR MILTTARY ACTION AGAINST CIVILIAN TARGETS" (PDF). Flight International: 43. 17 January 1990 – 23 January 1990. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Somali Airlines |
- (Somali) Somali Civil Aviation Authority
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