Aden Adde International Airport
Aden-Adde International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Airport type | Joint (Civil and Military) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 02°00′49″N 45°18′17″E / 2.01361°N 45.30472°E | ||||||||||
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Aden-Adde International Airport (IATA: MGQ, ICAO: HCMM), (formerly Mogadishu International Airport), is the international airport for Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. It is named after Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, the first President of Somalia.[1] The Somali civil war and the Ethiopian invasion have caused continual disruptions to the airport's operations.
In 2008, due to high risk on civilian aircraft, most airlines decided to land and depart from K50 Airport, about 50 km from Mogadishu in Lower Shabelle.
History
Mogadishu airport was created by the Italians in the 1940s. When Somalia became independent the Italians left the airport in good condition. The Somali government then agreed to use the airport as Mogadishu International Airport. The first few aircraft landing at Mogadishu were Somali Airlines DC-3. However the Somali government had ideas to expand the airport but it the idea was never put into action.
Mogadishu's airport was the site where the Landshut Hijacking was terminated on October 18, 1977.Lufthansa Flight 181 was a Lufthansa Boeing 737-230 Adv aircraft named Landshut that was hijacked on October 13, 1977 by four members of the P.F.L.P. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (who called themselves Commando Martyr Halime), in the last major event of the German Autumn of 1977. On October 18 the aircraft was stormed by the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9 in Mogadishu, Somalia, and all 86 passengers rescued. The rescue operation was codenamed "Feuerzauber" (German term for "Fire Magic") (also known as "Zauberfeuer" or Magic Fire).At around 6:22 am local time, the Landshut made an unannounced and perfect landing in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Mogadishu airport was also used by the Somali air force. The Somali Air Force had an airlift wing stationed at Mogadishu. The Somali air force also maintained an military academy at airport used by all members of Somali armed forces.
After reopening, African Express Airways was the first international airline to land at Mogadishu International Airport on August 3, 2006. The flight had departed from Nairobi.[2].
On June 8, 2007, the Transitional Federal Government announced that the airport would be renamed for the first president of Somalia, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, who died in Nairobi on June 8, 2007.
Airlines and destinations
- Daallo Airlines (Djiboutii, Hargeisa)
- Jubba Airways (Djibouti, Hargeisa, Dubai, Jeddah)
- African Express Airways (Aden, Berbera, Dubai, Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta, Sharjah)
Previous Airlines
- Somali Airlines (Hargeisa, Kismayo, Djibouti, Frankfurt, Rome, Jeddah, Dubai, Aden, Nairobi, Berbera, Sharjah, Damascus, Cairo, Khartoum, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Tripoli, Sanaa, Dar es Salaam,)
- Alitalia (Rome, Athens, Addis Ababa, Asmara)
- Pakistan International Airlines (Karachi, Dubai, Nairobi, Lagos) [suspended in 1996]
- Saudi Arabian Airlines (Jeddah)
- Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
- Air France (Victoria, Port Louis)
- Kenya Airways (Nairobi)
- Djibouti Airlines (Djibouti)
- Aeroflot (Cairo, Dar es Salaam, Hodeida, Moscow)
- U.S Air Force
- Somali Air Force
- Italian Air Force
Accidents and incidents
- On 6 May 1970, Vickers Viscount 6O-AAJ of Somali Airlines caught fire on approach to Mogadishu International Airport. The nosewheel collapsed in a heavy landing and the aircraft was burnt out. Five of the 30 people on board were killed.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Somali businessman gunned down in Kismayu
- ^ timesnews.co.ke - Kenya News
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 October 2009.