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SOMALIA / MOGADISHU AIRPORT
STORY: SOMALIA / MOGADISHU AIRPORT
TRT: 2.07
SOURCE: AU / UN IST
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 4 DECEMBER 2012 MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
1. Wide shot, Aden Abdulle International Airport
2. Close up, sign reading “Aden Abdulle International Airport”
3. Med shot, arriving passengers walking into terminal
4. Various shots, plane taxiing in
5. Close up, pilots in the plane
6. Wide shot, more plane taxing
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Mahmud Ibrahim, General Manager Somali Civil Aviation Authority:
“It is not as it used to be before, a lot of things are missing, but thanks to our government, transitional government and the Somali Federal Government, we are striving to resume all operations which are required to be established. So now we are in the middle, I can’t say we are lower but we are in the middle.”
8. Wide shot, Horn of Africa plane
9. Med shot, Manager of Horn of Africa airline standing by the plane
10. SOUNDBITE (English), Said Abdullah Saleh, General Manager Horn of Africa Aviation:
“We decided to come to the capital and we want to connect the country from Mogadishu to all the other provisional capitals in Somalia, because we see that there is a great need; we want to serve children, mothers, old people, sick people, people who can not travel, I emphasize people who can not travel with the rough roads.”
11. Wide shot, passengers walking toward aircraft
12. Med shot, passengers entering the plane
13. Wide shot, more passengers entering
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Mahmud Ibrahim, General Manager Somali Civil Aviation Authority:
“We request the international Civil Aviation Organization to come and see what is going on here, in order to lift the ban, because the airport is close from their side due to civil conflict. This time there is no more civil conflict, the airport is operating, everybody can come and witness what is going on here.”
15. Wide shot, baggage handling trucks at the airport
16. Wide shot, plane taxing out.
Aden Abdulle International Airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu is busy once again.
Relative calm has returned to the city and other parts of the country after the al Shabaab extremist group were forced out by sustained operations by the Somali National Army (SNA) supported by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Today the airport stands as the major port of entry for thousands of Somalis returning home and those coming to visit. Activity at the airport has increased with close to 15 flights taking off and landing daily.
During Somalia’s conflict years, the only aircrafts that ventured into its skies were those hired by daring businessmen to bring in khat – a plant grown in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia that has a stimulating effect when chewed - under the protection of warlords that controlled different areas of the city.
Things are changing and with security improving, Somalia now has a new President, Prime Minister and Government, and the country is trying to rebuild its institutions, inspite of the destruction caused by of two decades of civil war.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Mahmud Ibrahim, General Manager Somali Civil Aviation Authority:
“It is not as it used to be before, a lot of things are missing, but thanks to our government, transitional government and the Somali Federal Government, we are striving to resume all operations which are required to be established. So now we are in the middle, I can’t say we are lower but we are in the middle.”
Its not just foreign airlines that are filling Somalia’s newly reopened airspace, Somali businessmen are also seizing on the opportunity. Said Abdullah Saleh is the general manager of Horn of Africa Aviation. His airline previously operated charter flights between Puntland and Somaliland, but never out of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
The airline has now received all the necessary approvals from the Federal Government of Somalia and will be flying daily to Kismayo, Baido and Beletweyne.
SOUNDBITE (English), Said Abdullah Saleh, General Manager Horn of Africa Aviation:
“We decided to come to the capital and we want to connect the country from Mogadishu to all the other provisional capitals in Somalia, because we see that there is a great need; we want to serve children, mothers, old people, sick people, people who can not travel, I emphasize people who can not travel with the rough roads.”
Although the airport is seeing a lot more action than before, it is still not recognized by the International Civil Aviation Organization, due to safety and security issues since years of the civil conflict. According to the General Manager of Somalia's Civil Aviation Authority, this needs to change as things are improving.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ali Mahmud Ibrahim, General Manager Somali Civil Aviation Authority:
“We request the international Civil Aviation Organization to come and see what is going on here, in order to lift the ban, because the airport is close from their side due to civil conflict. This time there is no more civil conflict, the airport is operating, everybody can come and witness what is going on here.”
Several private airlines based in East Africa, including Kenya-based African Express and Sax as well as Somalia-owned private carries like Jubba Airways and Daallo Airlines, all operate flights into Mogadishu. In March this year international carrier Turkish Airlines began twice weekly flights between the Turkish capital Ankara and Mogadishu.
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