Turkey Airlines cancels flight to Mogadishu following fracas over embattled former spy chief
Turkish Airlines has cancelled its scheduled flight from Istanbul to Mogadishu on Saturday after a key ally of President Farmajo was reportedly detained on Friday in Djibouti while travelling with the airline on the same route.
Turkish Airlines has cancelled its scheduled flight from Istanbul to Mogadishu on Saturday after a key ally of President Farmajo was reportedly detained on Friday in Djibouti while travelling with the airline on the same route.
Turkish Airlines’ ticketing centre and multiple booking agents have removed the option to book the scheduled flight for Sep 18. Service to Mogadishu is expected to resume on Sunday.
Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo accused Djibouti of illegally detaining his new national security adviser, Fahad Yasin, as he transited through Djibouti en route to Mogadishu just before 7 AM local time.
The plane did not continue on to Mogadishu, its final destination.
Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf denied the allegations outright, saying his country would never interfere in their (Somalia) internal affairs.”
The Djibouti Foreign Minister and sources in Somalia’s Ministry of Transport said that the plane was re-routed to Istanbul following technical errors.
The international community has urged Somalia’s leaders to exercise restraint and work towards a resolution so that the government can focus on delivering elections.
Turkish Airlines operates a daily service to Mogadishu with a stop-over in Djibouti. In 2012, It became the first international airline to launch direct flights to Somalia since Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991. The airline has previously said that Somalia is one of the most profitable routes that it operates.
