# 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.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/infrastructure/egal-international-airport-hargeisa/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## At a glance

- **Codes:** IATA HGA, ICAO HCMH ([OurAirports, HCMH](https://ourairports.com/airports/HCMH/)).
- **Runway:** one asphalt runway, 06/24, 12,139 feet (about 3,700 metres) long, with no instrument landing system ([OurAirports](https://ourairports.com/airports/HCMH/); [Wikipedia, Hargeisa Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport)).
- **Height:** about 4,423 to 4,471 feet (1,348 to 1,363 metres) above sea level (same sources).
- **Owner:** the Somaliland Civil Aviation and Airports Authority ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport)).
- **Named after:** [Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal](/en/people/mohamed-haji-ibrahim-egal/), Prime Minister of Somalia in the 1960s and later the second president of [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/).
- **City:** Hargeisa, in [Maroodi Jeex (Woqooyi Galbeed)](/en/regions/woqooyi-galbeed/).

## From an RAF field to a national airport

The British Royal Air Force opened the airport in 1954, in the [British Somaliland](/en/history/british-somaliland-1884-1960/) protectorate. An expansion followed, and by 1958 it had a taxiway, a parking area and a terminal building ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport), citing a [European Commission Berbera corridor pre-feasibility study](http://www.eeas.europa.eu/archives/delegations/somalia/documents/more_info/berbera_corridor_pre_feasibilitystudy_executivesummary_en.pdf)). In the 1980s the [Siad Barre](/en/people/siad-barre/) government modernised it for larger aircraft and more destinations (Economist Intelligence Unit, *Country report: Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti*, 1986, p. 43, cited by Wikipedia). The airport was badly damaged during the events leading up to and during the civil war of the early 1990s and was rebuilt gradually over the following years (same Wikipedia article). For that period see [The Isaaq genocide, 1987 to 1989](/en/history/isaaq-genocide-1987-1989/).

## Traffic

In 2002 the airport handled **85,800 passengers** and **4,300 tonnes of cargo** across **6,120 landings**, according to the European Commission's Berbera corridor study ([European Commission](http://www.eeas.europa.eu/archives/delegations/somalia/documents/more_info/berbera_corridor_pre_feasibilitystudy_executivesummary_en.pdf)).

## The 2012–2013 rebuild and wind power

In 2012 flights were suspended while the runway was rebuilt and extended, with money from the Somaliland government, the **[Kuwait](/en/diaspora/kuwait/) Fund** and **USAID**. The airport reopened on **17 August 2013** with larger arrival and departure halls and five new wind turbines ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport); [Somaliland Live, "President Silanyo opens Kuwaiti-funded Egal Airport runway extension"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150530001653/http://somalilandlive.com/articles/20216/SOMALILAND-President-Silanyo-Opens-Kuwaiti-Funded-Egal-Airport-Runway-Extension)). The president at the time was [Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo)](/en/people/ahmed-mohamed-mohamoud-silanyo/).

In June 2014 the Somaliland government and USAID opened a wind energy project at the airport, managed by Somaliland's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources through a public-private partnership. It formed part of USAID's Partnership for Economic Growth, which put more than $14 million into Somaliland's energy, livestock and farming sectors and private business ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport)). For the wider power picture see [Solar and wind power](/en/economy/solar-and-wind-power/) and [Electricity](/en/economy/electricity/).

## Airlines and cargo

Wikipedia's destination list, which it marks as disputed, names Air Djibouti (Djibouti), African Express Airways, Daallo Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa), flydubai (Dubai), Freedom Airline Express (Mogadishu) and Jubba Airways ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport)). flydubai announced Hargeisa as a new route in December 2014 ([flydubai, December 2014](http://www.flydubai.com/en/news/article/flydubai-announces-three-new-routes/)). Ethiopian Cargo, [Emirates](/en/relations/uae/) SkyCargo and Astral Aviation are listed as scheduled cargo carriers (same Wikipedia article). See [Airlines in Somalia](/en/economy/airlines-in-somalia/).

## New terminals

Wikipedia states that Somaliland paid $70 million to the UAE-based Maharat investment company to redevelop the airport with two new terminals, two-storey buildings and a new control tower ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hargeisa_Airport)).

## Related

- [Berbera International Airport](/en/infrastructure/berbera-airport/), Somaliland's other long-runway airport
- [Somaliland's economy](/en/economy/somaliland-economy/)

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