# K50 airstrip, Lower Shabelle

> K50 airstrip near Mogadishu: why it was named K50, its runway, and how it served as Mogadishu's main airport during the 2006 to 2011 war years.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/infrastructure/k50-airstrip/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Where and what

K50 lies in the [Lower Shabelle](/en/regions/lower-shabelle/) region beside the main road that runs south-west from Mogadishu. Its name comes from its place on that road, at about kilometre 50 from the capital ([Wikipedia, K50 Airstrip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K50_Airstrip)). OurAirports places it at 2.005° N, 44.987° E, about 100 feet (30 metres) above sea level, and lists it under the local identifier SO-0001 ([OurAirports, SO-0001](https://ourairports.com/airports/SO-0001/)).

## The runway

The airstrip has one runway, 04/22, with a compacted sand surface 1,850 metres long and 20 metres wide (6,070 by 66 feet) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K50_Airstrip), citing the [Logistics Cluster airfield specification sheet](https://web.archive.org/web/20131103072955/http://www.logcluster.org/ops/som/air-transport/airfield-specifications/K50%20without%20FC.pdf)). That length suits turboprops and small jets on a dry surface; it has no paved surface and no lighting listed in these sources.

## Mogadishu's airport in wartime

During the 2006 to 2009 war, and the fighting in Mogadishu that followed, [Aden Adde International Airport](/en/infrastructure/aden-adde-international-airport/) in the city was closed or too risky for many flights. Wikipedia's article on that airport records that from 2008 most civilian aircraft chose to land at and depart from K50 instead, until the security situation in the capital improved in late 2010 and 2011 ([Wikipedia, Aden Adde International Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden_Adde_International_Airport)). The Somali-owned, Dubai-based [Daallo Airlines](/en/economy/airlines-in-somalia/) flew to and from K50 in that period ([Wikipedia, K50 Airstrip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K50_Airstrip)). Passengers and goods then travelled the 50 km into the city by road.

The strip is also used for aid flights. The United Nations Logistics Cluster, which coordinates humanitarian transport, published its specification sheet so that aid operators could plan landings ([Logistics Cluster](https://web.archive.org/web/20131103072955/http://www.logcluster.org/ops/som/air-transport/airfield-specifications/K50%20without%20FC.pdf)). A 2015 United Nations Security Council report also refers to the airstrip ([UN Digital Library, S/2015/801](https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/808014/files/S_2015_801-AR.pdf)).

## Nearby fields

- [Baledogle airfield](/en/infrastructure/baledogle-airfield/), the large military base about 90 km north-west of Mogadishu.
- [Aden Adde International Airport](/en/infrastructure/aden-adde-international-airport/), Mogadishu's main airport since the 1920s.
- [New Mogadishu International Airport](/en/infrastructure/new-mogadishu-international-airport/), planned north-east of the city.

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