{"id":838373,"date":"2026-10-28T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838373"},"modified":"2026-10-28T10:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:15:00","slug":"somaliland-bans-airline-tickets-issued-through-somalias-billing-system-at-hargeisa-and-berbera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838373","title":{"rendered":"Somaliland bans airline tickets issued through Somalia’s billing system at Hargeisa and Berbera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A flydubai plane at Hargeisa Egal International Airport on January 21, 2017 (Koodbuur, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) [file photo]<\/em><\/p>\n

Travel agents selling flights out of Hargeisa and Berbera have until Friday to meet Somaliland's licensing rules, after Somaliland banned tickets issued through Somalia's newly relaunched IATA billing system, including return tickets already sold.<\/p>\n

The order was issued on Sunday, October 25, by Somaliland's Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Development as Ministerial Regulatory Directive No. MCA&AD\/OM\/D\/02\/2026. "Effective immediately, tickets issued through Somalia's Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) will not be accepted for departures from airports in the Republic of Somaliland, regardless of the date of issuance," the ministry said in its notice, according to Saxafi Media, which published the directive's main points.<\/p>\n

The Billing and Settlement Plan is a system run by the International Air Transport Association that lets accredited travel agents sell tickets for many airlines and settle the payments in one place. Somalia relaunched its BSP in Mogadishu on October 18 at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, presenting it as part of the rebuilding of the country's aviation sector.<\/p>\n

Under the directive, tickets for departures from Hargeisa Egal International Airport and Berbera International Airport must be bought through channels approved by the Somaliland ministry. These include airline websites and mobile applications, airline ticket offices, airport counters and travel agents licensed by Somaliland's Department of Civil Aviation Regulation and Air Transport. Airlines must tell any travel agents found to be non-compliant to regularize their licensing by October 31, and from November 1 they may keep ticketing arrangements only with agents who meet Somaliland's requirements. Airlines are also told to review existing bookings, set up ways to verify tickets and inform passengers who may be affected.<\/p>\n

The directive does not say how many tickets could be affected or whether passengers holding banned tickets will get refunds or replacements, Saxafi noted. Because the order expressly covers return tickets issued before Sunday, a passenger who flew into Hargeisa on a ticket sold through Somalia's system may find the return half refused at check-in. Ethiopian Airlines and flydubai, both of which fly to Hargeisa, have not said publicly how they will apply the rule.<\/p>\n

The measure is the latest round in a long fight between Hargeisa and Mogadishu over who controls the skies and the borders of Somaliland. In 2024, the two sides ended an arrangement under which they shared management of the airspace. In September 2025, Somalia introduced an electronic travel authorization for foreign visitors, which Somaliland refused to apply on its territory. In November 2025, Somalia's Civil Aviation Authority warned flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines that they could face penalties or restrictions on Hargeisa flights if they kept carrying passengers without Mogadishu's authorization, and Somaliland in turn told operators to get its permission before entering its airspace.<\/p>\n

Somaliland voices on X welcomed the order. The account @FarahLander called it "a significant step toward strengthening Somaliland's independent aviation regulation and control."<\/p>\n

Not everyone was impressed. Badri, writing as @badrijimale, said the aviation authority "should be honest with its own public," arguing that "banning the Somalia BSP system means little if Somaliland continues to allow airlines landing in Hargeisa" to enforce Mogadishu's rules. A Somali-language account, @JabriilM99309, noted that the federal government has begun to unify and tax air and sea travel through the system.<\/p>\n

The dispute also has a wider diplomatic setting. Israel recognized Somaliland in December 2025, the first country to do so, and Somaliland has been pressing other governments to follow. China and Djibouti, in a joint statement last week, repeated their opposition to any recognition of Somaliland, and Somalia has used visas, airspace rules and now ticketing to insist that Somaliland remains part of its territory. Somaliland, which declared that it was restoring its independence in 1991, runs its own government, army, currency and aviation authority.<\/p>\n

The ministry's release did not say why the directive was issued or which airlines and agents are affected, Dawan Africa reported. The federal Government of Somalia and IATA had not responded publicly to the directive by Wednesday. Mereja has sought comment from Somaliland's foreign ministry on how passengers holding affected tickets will be treated.<\/p>\n

For now, Saxafi advised travelers departing from Hargeisa or Berbera to check with their airline how their ticket was issued, to ask whether it needs to be reissued through an authorized channel and to get any refund or exchange promise in writing, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n