Abdullahi Yusuf Airport, Galkayo (GLK)

At a glance

• Codes: IATA GLK, ICAO HCMR (OurAirports, HCMR).
• Runways: OurAirports lists two parallel strips, 05L/23R asphalt and 05R/23L turf, each 9,859 feet (about 3,005 metres) long; the field sits 975 feet above sea level (OurAirports).
• Name: renamed on 25 March 2012 in memory of Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, former President of Somalia, who was born in Galkayo (AllAfrica, March 2012; Wikipedia, Abdullahi Yusuf Airport).
• City: Gaalkacyo (Galkayo), in Mudug. For the city's trade role see Galkayo and the Bosaso trade corridor.

Shared by a divided city

Galkayo is split between a northern part run by Puntland and a southern part run by Galmudug. The airport is administered by Puntland, like most of the city, and Wikipedia records that it has served as a buffer zone between the two parts. Taxes collected by the airport authority are split equally between the Puntland and Galmudug administrations, an arrangement that has helped relations between them (Wikipedia, citing Africa Review, "Galkayo: a peaceful island in Somalia").

The 1982 air raid

During the 1982 Ethiopian incursion into Somalia, waves of Ethiopian Air Force jets bombed the airport and its anti-aircraft defences with bombs and rockets. Wikipedia records that they missed, and that the runway, which was then being lengthened, was not damaged (Wikipedia).

Security incidents

• 7 April 2014: two United Nations staff, a British man and a French man, were shot dead in their car at the airport by a man in police uniform. The UN Secretary-General and Security Council condemned the killing (Reuters, April 2014).
• 2 October 2017: the airport's chief of security, Colonel Abdisalan Sanyare Owke, and his bodyguard were shot dead by a policeman (Goobjoog; Wikipedia).

Flights

For the Somali carriers that serve the city see Airlines in Somalia. OurAirports marks the airport as having scheduled service (OurAirports). Nearby fields: Garowe to the north and Mogadishu to the south.