# Somali Airlines (Shirkadda Duulimaadyada Soomaaliyeed), 1964 to today > The history of Somali Airlines: its founding with Alitalia in 1964, fleet and routes, accidents, the end of flights in 1991 and the plans to restart it from 2012 to 2026. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/somali-airlines/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## The short version Somali Airlines was set up on **5 March 1964** and began domestic flights in July 1964. The Somali government and Alitalia each owned half. In 1977 the government bought out Alitalia's share. At its height in the 1980s it flew Boeing 707s from Mogadishu and Berbera to Europe, the Gulf and East Africa. Flights stopped in **1991** with the civil war ([Wikipedia, Somali Airlines, citing Flight International and Guttery's *Encyclopedia of African Airlines*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Airlines)). ## Fleet and routes From Flight International's yearly airline directories: - **1965:** three Douglas DC-3s and two Cessna 180s, flying inside Somalia and to Aden ([Flight International, 15 April 1965](https://web.archive.org/web/20160306212258/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1965/1965%20-%202177.html)). - **1970:** three DC-3s, four Vickers Viscounts and two Cessna 185s ([Flight International, 26 March 1970](https://web.archive.org/web/20131230142457/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1970/1970%20-%200551.html)). - **1974:** a Boeing 720B leased from Tempair, the airline's first jet ([Flight International, 7 February 1974](https://web.archive.org/web/20140107211259/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1974/1974%20-%200183.html)). - **1985:** two Boeing 707-320Cs and two Fokker F27s, **714 staff**, flying from Mogadishu and Berbera to Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Nairobi and Rome ([Flight International, 30 March 1985](https://web.archive.org/web/20140107225126/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1985/1985%20-%200980.html)). - **1987:** an order for an Airbus A310 to replace the 707s on European and Middle East routes ([Wikipedia, citing Flight International, 7 November 1987](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Airlines)). A Nairobi service started in January 1966 was dropped in June 1966 after Kenya banned the airline's flights, during tensions between the two countries over the Northern Frontier District ([Wikipedia, citing Guttery 1998](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Airlines)). ## Accidents The Aviation Safety Network records six events, three with deaths ([Aviation Safety Network, Somali Airlines](https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/5298)): | Date | Place | Aircraft | Deaths | |---|---|---|---| | 6 May 1970 | Mogadishu | Vickers Viscount | 5 of 30 | | 16 August 1975 | Bosaso | Douglas C-47 | 0 of 11 | | 20 July 1981 | Balcad | Fokker F27 (flight 40) | 50 of 50 | | 17 May 1989 | Nairobi | Boeing 707 | 0 of 70 | | 28 June 1989 | Hargeisa | Fokker F27 | 30 of 30 | Flight 40 broke up in severe turbulence ([Aviation Safety Network](https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19810720-0)). The Fokker that crashed after take-off from Hargeisa in June 1989 was claimed by rebels to have been shot down ([Aviation Safety Network](https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890628-1); [Flight International, January 1990](https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1990/1990%20-%200101.html)). ## Plans to fly again - **July 2012:** the government announced plans to revive the airline ([Laanta, 24 July 2012](https://laanta.net/2012/07/24/somalia-to-revive-national-airline-after-21-years/)). - **December 2017:** Somalia took back control of its own airspace after 27 years ([Voice of America](https://www.voanews.com/a/somalia-takes-control-of-its-own-skies/4182804.html)). - **28 July 2025:** at a ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office, the government signed to buy two Airbus A320s from Lima Holding Group to restart the airline. Transport Minister [Mohamed Farah](/en/people/mo-farah/) Nuuh said the planes would be flying within two months ([SONNA, 29 July 2025](https://sonna.so/en/the-return-of-the-white-star-somali-airlines-resumes-operations-after-three-decades/); [Hiiraan Online](https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2025/July/202363/somalia_buys_airbus_jets_to_relaunch_somali_airlines_after_33_year_hiatus.aspx)). He also said two or three more aircraft would follow ([TRT Afrika](https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/c2648e1321aa)). - **27 October 2025:** the transport minister said flights would restart before the end of 2025 ([ch-aviation, 31 October 2025](https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/160023-somali-airlines-poised-to-resume-flights-by-ye25)). That date passed without flights. - **August 2026:** the civil aviation authority said the airline was in its "final stages" and the first flight was expected "around mid-September" 2026. Regulatory and safety approvals were still needed ([ch-aviation, 19 August 2026](https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/170707-somali-airlines-now-targets-late-3q26-restart); [Bloomberg, 16 August 2026](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-16/somalia-national-airline-to-resume-service-after-35-years); [Dawan Africa, 18 August 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somali-airlines-expected-to-resume-flights-in-mid-september)). No report of a first flight was found when this page was checked on 12 November 2026. Today the airlines flying in Somalia are private firms. The largest local carriers include Daallo Airlines and Jubba Airways ([Wikipedia, Somali Airlines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Airlines)). See [Flying in Somalia: the private airlines since 1991](/en/economy/airlines-in-somalia/) and [Mogadishu's economy](/en/economy/mogadishu-economy/). ## Sources disagree - Reports describe the gap since 1991 as 33, 34 or 35 years, depending on the date of the report. - The seller of the A320s is written as Lima Holding Group by [SONNA](/en/institutions/state-media/) and as Lema Holdings in some other reports. - Alitalia's share is given as 50 percent at the founding and 49 percent when the government bought it in 1977 ([Wikipedia, citing Guttery 1998](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Airlines)). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.