Somalia denies Israeli airline overflight amid dispute over Somaliland recognition
The decision by Mogadishu means the Israeli airline will reroute its flights Southeast Asia.
Somalia has denied overflight access to an Israeli-owned passenger airline, a move that could force the carrier to reroute flights to Southeast Asia, amid heightened diplomatic tensions following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, Somalia’s breakaway northern region.
The Somali federal government has refused to renew an overflight permit for Arkia Israeli Airlines, which routinely transits Somali airspace on its Tel Aviv–Bangkok route. The airline said it has not yet received approval for its February overflight clearance.
“As of now, Arkia has not received the renewal of the periodic permit for air transit over Somalia for February,” the company said in a statement cited by Israeli media.
The airline said, if authorisation is not granted by early February, it would operate Thailand flights on an alternative route without affecting schedules or passengers.
Somalia has strongly condemned Israel’s unilateral recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991.
The breakaway region has not been internationally recognised as an independent state and Mogadishu views it as an integral part of its sovereign territory, describing Israel’s move as illegal and a violation of Somalia’s territorial integrity.
Somalia’s aviation improvement
The Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), which now exercises full control over national airspace, declined Arkia’s overflight request for renewal of the permit, according to various sources.
Somalia has not publicly commented on whether the overflight denial is temporary or linked directly to the Somaliland dispute.
The decision comes as Somalia consolidates authority over its airspace after decades of external management.
In 2017, Somali government announced it had fully resumed control and management of its airspace, after more than 27 years, where Somali airspace was overseen from Nairobi under arrangements led by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), following the collapse of the central government during the civil war.
Over the past three years, Somalia has achieved Class A airspace status based on international standards and reinstated air traffic control services after a three-decade interruption.