Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of Somalia and the Civil Aviation Authority

What it does

The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation makes federal policy for air and land transport. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), under it, is the body that runs air navigation. Its director general has described it as "the legally mandated body responsible for managing all air navigation services across Somalia's airspace" (Goobjoog, November 2025). Together they:

• Run the airspace: the SCAA provides air traffic control and issues landing and overflight permits (same source).
• License airlines: the government said it would license all airlines flying in Somali skies (Garowe Online).
• Oversee airports: Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu and the federal airports. In May 2026 the minister warned airlines and agencies at Aden Adde airport to respect passengers' rights (Federal Government weekly briefing, 15 May 2026).
• Road transport: vehicle number plates and driving licences, which raised US$2.37 million and US$1.43 million in 2025 (Appropriation Act for 2027, as submitted).

Who leads them

Mohamed Farah Nuh became minister in 2025, taking over from Fardowsa Osman Egal in a handover led by Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama (SONNA). He chaired the ministry's public service meeting in January 2026 (SONNA). In February 2026 the Prime Minister named Major General Sulub Ahmed Firin as deputy minister (Garowe Online).

Ahmed Moallin Hassan is Director General of the SCAA (Garowe Online, 26 January 2023; Goobjoog, November 2025).

The airspace, step by step

• About 30 years uncontrolled: after the civil war, Somalia's airspace was classed as uncontrolled (Class G), and international flights over Somalia were handled from Kenya (Garowe Online, January 2023).
• 2018: the government moved air traffic operations to Mogadishu (same source).
• January 2023: IATA confirmed that airspace above 24,500 feet was reclassified as Class A, where every flight must be cleared by air traffic control. The SCAA's director general said: "It [is] welcoming news. We will be celebrating." Garowe Online reported that more than 400 flights a day cross Somali airspace and that the change could raise more than US$34 million a year (same source).
• November 2025: Somaliland began requiring its own overflight permits from 10 November 2025. The federal SCAA rejected this and said it alone issues permits (AllAfrica, November 2025; Goobjoog). Several flights were diverted from the airspace over Somaliland as the federal rules were enforced (AllAfrica, November 2025).
• 2026: the SCAA denied reports that it had handed airspace control to the UAE (Dawan Africa). The cabinet approved new aviation safety rules (SONNA).

The money

From the federal budget (Appropriation Act for 2027, as submitted), where the authority is listed as "Civil Aviation and Metro-Authority":

On the income side, overflight fees collected through IATA were US$19.90 million in 2025, budgeted at US$30.69 million in 2026 and proposed at US$46.69 million in 2027. Airport fees brought in US$4.15 million in 2025 and passenger fees US$6.07 million (same source).

How the work is shared

Somaliland runs its own Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Development, and its minister said in March 2026 that Hargeisa had taken legal steps against Mogadishu over airspace management (AllAfrica, March 2026). Member states have transport ministers of their own. For airlines, see Airlines in Somalia and Somali Airlines.

Its legal basis

The Civil Aviation law and Somalia's membership of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the ministry's mandate from the Council of Ministers under the 2012 Provisional Constitution, as amended in 2024 and 2026.