What It's Like Flying Out Of Mogadishu, Somalia 🇸🇴 With Ethiopian Airlines
Intro
Following an incredible experience visiting Mogadihsu, Somalia, it was time to embark on my next adventure: seeing the wild gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As I wrote about in the inbound review, Ethiopian Airlines is one of the few major carriers that operates to Mogadishu and the only major airline that has daily direct service into Somalia. Thus, the choice was made to fly with Ethiopian on their all-white 737-800. This specific flight was booked for 17,500 United Miles, while the routing consisted of Mogadishu-Addis Ababa-Kigali; this was a fantastic deal.
Overall, it was an interesting experience flying out of Mogadishu. The airport was not at all what I expected, and the flight itself was very good. Let's get into it!
Mogadishu Airport, Somalia 🇸🇴
Heading straight from lunch on Liido Beach and swimming the Somali Ocean (is that it, or would it be called the Indian Ocean? The Somali Ocean sounds cooler 😅), we headed to the airport around 3 pm local time for the 6 pm departure. As I spoke about, we had to be inside the green zone by 4 pm due to it being closed after for security reasons.
To enter the airport, passengers must first go through a brief security checkpoint. Although, I am not sure how intense this part of the security check is.
When I arrived at the counters, check-in was an absolute mess. There were two lines for Ethiopian Airlines passengers, and there must have been about 80 people all lined up with 2-3 checked bags per person. As I didn't have a bag to check, I asked the agent if an online boarding pass would work, and to no surprise, I was met with a firm no. 45 minutes later, I finally had my boarding pass printed...
Bidding farewell to my guide, he showed me to the immigration counters, where I finally got my exit stamp to Mogadishu before proceeding onward through the main security check. Ahh, yes, we had not only completed Somalia but had a lovely time in the country 🙂.
Airside, I was quite surprised to see the modern-looking terminal. There were a couple of restaurants and cafes, as well as toilets available. Priority pass holders: do not get your hopes up (ha).
The real excitement came from seeing some airlines that I had never heard of in my life...
Here's my next tip to you: bring USD to Somalia! The main currency used in the country is USD, and most places won't even take the local currency.
Settling down in a lovely cafe, I decided to order a Kit Kat and a coffee. While it was expensive (9 USD) for a coffee, the presentation was incredible, and the taste was delicious. When in Somalia, am I right 😉?
Boarding/Departure
5:00 pm local time came around, and boarding was scheduled to begin shortly. However, checking FlightAware, I could see that the inbound plane was landing late, which seems to be a common occurrence in Mogadishu.
There are three main gates at the airport. To access the gate area, you must present your boarding pass to the agent at the front. Settling into one of the seats, we were instructed to place all of our bags against the window so that the dogs could proceed to sniff them before boarding.
For the first time in a while, I felt unbelievably relaxed. A woman from the US, working with the United Nations, approached me, and we began talking about Somalia. She lightly mentioned to me that wearing swim trunks in the airport was extremely disrespectful and I should probably change. To be honest, she had a point, and I should have known this beforehand (it slipped my mind).
At 5:40 pm, it was finally time to leave Mogadishu, as the agents announced boarding for ET379. Sad to leave, passengers were ushered onto the bus as we headed on the short ride over to our 737-800.
It was unbelievably peculiar to see so many UN and WFP planes, with the odd local airlines thrown in there.
Stepping off the bus, we were greeted by yet another all-white 737-800 (different from the last one). There's something eery about stepping onto a plane that doesn't have a livery.
Once onboard, I settled into my seat for today's flight 14A. I have previously reviewed the cabin in the last report: the seat is pretty basic, and there is no wifi, but it is a comfortable seat with plenty of padding.
Lucking out with an empty seat next to me, the announcement of boarding complete came right on the stroke of 6:00 pm. However, there always has to be some drama when flying out of Somalia. Do you get me (this is the number one English saying I heard in the county)?
Lol. The bus broke down in front of the plane 🤣. Honestly, you cannot make it up if you tried.
So we sat, and we sat, and we sat. The captain came out of the cockpit to try and find another way to depart, such as finding a pushback tug (I think), but to no avail. I must imagine that a stranded plane with passengers boarded in Mogadishu is the last thing Ethiopian Airlines wants to have.
By 6:45 pm, they somehow had found a way to move the bus, and we began our taxi out to the runway. Another interesting thing I noticed is that planes land from the South and take off to the South over the ocean. It does not matter about which way the winds are blowing.
After a beautiful takeoff roll with the last of the East African sunset, we were wheels up on the 657-mile flight to Addis Ababa.
The Flight
Leaving Somalia behind, it was time to reflect on the trip. Thinking about what I had just done, a great sense of relief fell over me. Somalia and Libya are probably the two hardest countries in my eyes** to visit, and I had just done one of the two.
Anyway, I was hungry, but it was time to eat! 20 minutes after takeoff, the flight attendant came around to offer passengers a choice of either chicken or beef for dinner.
The food was divine, as I've come to expect on Ethiopian, as well as the red wine that they served.
Seeing as I was tired from the past 10 days traveling Africa, I tucked in for a little nap.
Arrival
I must have been absolutely shattered, as I happened to wake up while we were on a remote stand at Addis Ababa. After a flight time of an hour and 40 minutes, we landed 35 minutes behind schedule in the capital of Ethiopia.
While I am not a fan of remote stands (in general), Ethiopian Airlines makes this process very straightforward and efficient. Within minutes, I was at transit security.
Unfortunately, I made the decision to throw away this real shark tooth that a local gave me in Mogadishu. I had heard stories about certain countries in Africa arresting people for having certain items, and I just couldn't take the risk. Sad, but I think it was the right decision.
With that, I must leave you from the Somali series. I hope you have enjoyed it, and I will be taking a very quick break from the Africa series to write a couple of reviews from a recent status run!
Thank you, Somalia, thank you for your kindness and generosity, and I hope to see you soon for a fishing expedition 🙂.
Final Thoughts
Flying Ethiopian Airlines from Mogadishu to Addis Ababa was, in general, a nice experience. The Mogadishu airport is in no way the most efficient and takes about 6 security checkpoints to reach, but it works out in the end. The bus breaking down in front of the plane was hilarious, and the dog sniffing bags was something new to me (minus Bolivia). However, onboard, Ethiopian Airlines offers a nice product with good food and free-flowing wine. The only aspect is the lack of Wi-Fi on their narrowbody fleet, but heading into a level 4 DNT, I wonder if Ethiopian would even turn on Wi-Fi if it were available. Thanks for tuning in, and stay tuned for the next adventure 🙂.
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