Airports and airstrips
Airports and airstrips of Mogadishu and the Shabelle regions
Mogadishu, Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle have 12 recorded airfields. Aden Adde in Mogadishu is the country's busiest airport; a second, larger airport is planned north-east of the city. Baledogle is the biggest military base, and K50 served as the capital's airport in wartime. Smaller strips include Jowhar, Baraawe, Merca and Dayniile. This page lists each with sources, and the Italian-era Petrella field.
About this list
The rows join OurAirports (Somalia list), the GeoNames gazetteer (GeoNames) and Wikidata (Wikidata). Fields that two registers place within 4 km of each other are one row. Heights from OurAirports are in feet, from GeoNames in metres. OurAirports files some fields under "Mogadishu" as the nearest city even when they lie in Lower or Middle Shabelle.
The main fields
- Aden Adde International Airport: Mogadishu's airport since 1928, with a 3.2 km runway on the coast.
- New Mogadishu International Airport: planned on about 20 square kilometres at Maaxaay (El Maan), with a World Bank-funded design study launched in February 2026. OurAirports already lists the site as "under construction" (OurAirports, SO-0022).
- Baledogle airfield: the largest military base, near Wanlaweyn.
- K50 airstrip: Mogadishu's stand-in airport during the 2007 to 2011 fighting.
Petrella, the first airfield
Before today's airport, Mogadishu's first field was Aeroporto di Mogadiscio-Petrella, opened in 1928 about 3 miles south of the city and named after Enrico Petrella, an Italian pilot who had died there in 1921 when it was still a simple strip (Wikipedia, Petrella Airport). The 36th "Squadriglia Mogadiscio" was based there from 1926, and in 1935–36 it was the centre for Italian air raids on southern Ethiopia. From 1938 a bus service linked it to the city and port. It was partly destroyed in 1941 and reopened to civilian flights in 1950 under the UN trusteeship (same source). See Toward independence, 1920 to 1960 for the period.
Smaller strips
- Jowhar: GeoNames marks an airfield at the capital of Middle Shabelle and of Hirshabelle (GeoNames).
- Baraawe: OurAirports and GeoNames list strips at the old port town; see Barawa (OurAirports, SO-0015; GeoNames).
- Merca (Marka): OurAirports lists the town's airstrip as closed (OurAirports, SO-0014).
- Dayniile and Cisaleey (Isaley): OurAirports lists a strip at Dayniile on Mogadishu's north-west edge and a closed field at Cisaleey north of the city (OurAirports, SO-0013; OurAirports, SO-0021).
- Uadan highway strip: a road strip south-west of the city (OurAirports, SO-0003).
Every recorded airfield
| Airfield | Town | Codes | Runway | Height | Position | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aden Adde International Airport | Mogadishu | MGQ / HCMM | 05/23 10446 ft ASP | 29 ft | 2.014, 45.305 | OurAirports; GeoNames; Wikidata |
| Baledogle Airfield | Wanlaweyn | HC01 | 297 ft | 2.671, 44.793 | OurAirports; GeoNames | |
| Baraawe Airport | Baraawe | 1.094, 43.995 | OurAirports | |||
| Barawe | 70 m | 1.162, 44.012 | GeoNames | |||
| Cisaleey Airport | Mogadishu | (closed) | 29 ft | 2.117, 45.489 | OurAirports | |
| Dayniile Airport | Mogadishu | 2.122, 45.269 | OurAirports | |||
| Jowhar | 111 m | 2.886, 45.469 | GeoNames | |||
| K50 Airstrip | Mogadishu | 100 ft | 2.005, 44.987 | OurAirports; GeoNames | ||
| Kilometer 50 | 73 m | 1.945, 44.947 | GeoNames | |||
| Merca Airport | Merca | (closed) | 1.633, 44.649 | OurAirports | ||
| New Mogadishu International Airport (Under Construction) | Mogadishu | (closed) | 30 ft | 2.2, 45.62 | OurAirports | |
| Uadan Highway Airstrip | Mogadishu | 1.973, 45.223 | OurAirports; Wikidata |
Related
Sources
- Somalia list · ourairports.com
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- Wikidata · wikidata.org
- OurAirports, SO-0022 · ourairports.com
- Wikipedia, Petrella Airport · en.wikipedia.org
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- OurAirports, SO-0015 · ourairports.com
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- OurAirports, SO-0014 · ourairports.com
- OurAirports, SO-0013 · ourairports.com
- OurAirports, SO-0021 · ourairports.com
- OurAirports, SO-0003 · ourairports.com
- OurAirports · ourairports.com
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- Wikidata · wikidata.org
- OurAirports · ourairports.com
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- OurAirports · ourairports.com
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- GeoNames · geonames.org
- Wikidata · wikidata.org
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Keep reading
- Aden Adde International Airport, Mogadishu (MGQ)Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport (MGQ/HCMM): history since 1928, runway, airlines, operators, passenger numbers and the planned new airport.
- New Mogadishu International Airport (planned)The planned New Mogadishu International Airport at El Maan: site, runways, capacity, cost, World Bank-funded design study and timeline.
- Egal International Airport, Hargeisa (HGA)Hargeisa's Egal International Airport (HGA/HCMH): from the 1954 RAF field to the 2013 runway extension, wind power, airlines, cargo and traffic figures.
- Berbera International Airport (BBO)Berbera International Airport (BBO/HCMI): the Soviet-built 4 km runway, NASA Space Shuttle years, the 2015 terminal and the 2021 UAE-funded reopening.
- Bosaso Airport (Bender Qassim International, BSA)Bosaso's Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA/HCMF): 1980s strip, the 2008 Lootah deal, the 2014–2016 rebuild, runways, and the reported UAE hub role.
- Kismayo Airport (KMU)Kismayo Airport (KMU/HCMK): the 1970s runway, the 2013 Jubaland handover, the military and UN compounds, and the airport's data, with sources.