Airlines and passengers are to pay the cost of the Somaliland vs Somalia airspace dispute with risks of bans, penalties and double payment.
Airlines remain in limbo following conflicting directives from both Somaliland and Somalia. Somaliland is already implementing a directive that requires all flights to Hargeisa and across the Somaliland skies to obtain prior authorisation.
Meanwhile, Somalia is determined to assert is authority over ‘all of Somalia airspace’ which includes Somaliland.
Airlines will be forced to either flout some of the directives from both authorities and risk bans and penalties from either, or follow both and pay double, hence passing the costs to consumers. For instance, while Somalia has introduced e-visas to ‘all Somalia airports’ including Hargeisa, Somaliland grants visa on arrival. To avoid trouble from either, a passenger may be forced to pay for both the e-visa and the visa on arrival when traveling to Hargeisa. An airline meanwhile will be forced to appease both parties too to avoid being banned by either of them.
Genesis of the Somaliland and Somalia Airspace Fight
A row over sovereignty, security and travel paperwork erupted between Somalia’s federal government and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, threatening to disrupt flights across the Horn of Africa and forcing airlines to choose which authority to follow.
The dispute began after Somalia launched a mandatory nationwide electronic visa (e-visa / eTAS) system that went live on 1 September 2025, requiring all foreign travellers to obtain online authorisation before boarding flights to any city in Somalia — including airports in Somaliland and Puntland. The federal migration agency billed the move as modernization and enhanced security; regional authorities immediately rejected it as an overreach.
Tensions deepened in late October and early November when reports surfaced of serious security flaws and alleged breaches in Somalia’s e-visa platform.
Local outlets and analysts described vulnerabilities that could expose applicants’ personal and biometric data. Some reports said a large data leak was detected around 10–11 November 2025.
Unconfirmed posts making rounds on Twitter alleged that the compromised Somalia’s e-visa system exposed passports, biometrics, and financial details of over 35,000 applicants, including U.S., UK diplomats, and aid workers.
Somalia’s rollout and the security worries have been widely cited by Somaliland as justification for rejecting Mogadishu’s e-visa scheme. (Reporting on the incident varies; some outlets describe it as an alleged breach or vulnerability rather than a formally confirmed compromise.)
On 10 November 2025, Somaliland’s Ministry of Civil Aviation ordered that all aircraft flying into, over or out of Somaliland must obtain prior overflight or landing permits from Hargeisa. The government declared it would enforce full control of the airspace — a direct challenge to Mogadishu, which asserts federal authority over the country’s airspace.
Somaliland officials said the move defends their sovereignty and air safety; they warned that unapproved flights or passengers presenting Mogadishu-issued e-visas would be denied entry.
Somaliland has successfully governed itself since regaining its independence in 1991 following the fall of Siad Barre, and has consistently held peaceful elections. It is however not officially recognized by UN members.
The Somali Civil Aviation Authority and federal agencies in Mogadishu reacted by issuing formal warnings to carriers that board passengers bound for Hargeisa without federal e-visas, threatening fines, blacklisting and potential suspension of route rights for airlines that flout the requirement. Somali authorities say carriers issuing boarding passes to travellers without federal clearance undermine national security and sovereignty.
Airlines have so far reacted unevenly.
Ethiopian Airlines and flydubai were publicly reported to have ignored or suspended enforcement of Mogadishu’s e-visa rule for Somaliland-bound passengers — a move Mogadishu condemned and which prompted warnings from the Somali aviation authority. Some carriers have continued to require the federal e-visa; others have allowed passengers to rely on Somaliland’s visa-on-arrival practice. The split has left passengers stranded or paying extra fees in some cases.
Diplomatic missions have also begun to weigh in. Germany, whose foreign office and migration services updated travel guidance in recent weeks, has told its citizens that, for travel to Somaliland, they should follow Hargeisa’s visa-on-arrival procedures rather than Mogadishu’s e-visa, a practical instruction that has been interpreted in Hargeisa as tacit recognition of Somaliland’s separate entry rules and in Mogadishu as diplomatically sensitive. Other embassies have issued cautionary notes to travellers but stopped short of endorsing either side’s legal claims.
Both governments say they will punish breaches. Somalia has threatened administrative and commercial penalties against airlines that flout federal rules; Somaliland has warned that flights without its authorisation or passengers holding Mogadishu e-visas will be refused entry and that carriers could be banned from Hargeisa.
The practical effect on scheduled services is evolving: some airlines appear prepared to follow commercial demand and local permits, others to comply with Mogadishu to protect route rights.
Analysts warn the impasse risks wider diplomatic fallout and travel disruption across the region if not quickly defused. Resolving it will require either technical arrangements that allow airlines to satisfy both authorities (dual-clearance systems) or a political negotiation addressing the deeper constitutional and recognition disputes that underpin this latest clash. For now, passengers and carriers remain caught between competing rules.
