The Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) has issued a "formal notification and directive" to flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines, admonishing the airlines for reportedly allowing passengers travelling to Hargeisa, an airport in self-governing Somaliland, to board without Somali e-visas.

The regulator said that should the airlines continue to allow passengers without Somali e-visas to travel to Hargeisa, it could impose financial penalties, ban them from flying to the city, and "review" their authorisations to operate in Somali airspace in general.

The escalation follows the introduction of an e-visa for passengers travelling to Somalia on September 1, 2025. However, the change has not been implemented in Hargeisa and the rest of Somaliland. The territory has been governed independently since the early 1990s, and the Mogadishu government has no effective power to enforce its laws in Hargeisa. Consequently, Somaliland maintains its own border policy, which relies on visas on arrival.

In response to the SCAA letter, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Development of Somaliland said it would require all air operators - including scheduled, non-scheduled, and general aviation - to obtain prior authorisations for entering Somaliland airspace.

In theory, the entire airspace of Somalia is covered by the Mogadishu Flight Information Region (FIR) and governed by the SCAA, but in practice, the two authorities have been sharing responsibility. Airspace over Somaliland, which lies in what is internationally recognised as the northern part of Somalia, is effectively controlled by the Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of Somaliland, a Hargeisa-based regulator.

The two regulators had a responsibility-sharing agreement, but axed it in 2024. Their cooperation is often strained. Last year, Mogadishu told flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines to identify Hargeisa as a city in Somalia in their internet booking engines.

Neither of the two airlines responded to ch-aviation's request for comment. There are no other international carriers serving Hargeisa.