Jubba Airways (Kenya) (JBW, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has relaunched international operations with the induction into service of its first B737-300, 5Y-JAB (msn 26851), purchased from Sideral Linhas Aéreas earlier this year, ch-aviation research shows.

Based at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenyan-registered 147-seater, all-economy class, 34.5-year-old jet undertook its first domestic flight to Mombasa on September 10, 2026, followed by its first international service to Mogadishu on September 16, according to ADS-B data.

In a video showing the water cannon arrival ceremony of the Boeing aircraft in Mogadishu, the Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported that Jubba Airways had resumed international flights and intends to return to routes connecting Somalia with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya, while also resuming Somali domestic services.

The company is in a stronger position in terms of "management, budget, and standing", the news agency reported chairman Muhyadin Ali as saying.

Jubba Airways did not immediately respond to ch-aviation’s request for comment.

In April, CEO Saïd Qailie told ch-aviation that the carrier planned to relaunch scheduled passenger services from Nairobi to Mogadishu, Dubai International, Djibouti, and Jeddah International, as it pivots away from charter-focused operations with turboprops towards scheduled operations with a fleet of narrowbodies. It is also reopening its Dubai office to support the network rebuild.

Qailie said 5Y-JAB was the first of two B737-300s bought from Sideral Linhas Aéreas with further plans for two B737-400s. He also said Jubba Airways would also acquire two ex-Australian F100s through a Dutch broker.

The airline, whose affiliate Jubba Airways has an AOC in Somalia, is restructuring its fleet in a post-pandemic strategy of phasing out F50 turboprops and returning to an all-narrowbody fleet that will support the relaunch of international scheduled services.