Trouble at the double in Somali airspace

Airline pilots must be able to trust absolutely the instructions they receive from air traffic controllers. Which makes recent incidents over Somalia a matter of concern.

Pilots of aircraft passing over the troubled country, which has been wracked by civil war for more than 30 years, have been receiving conflicting instructions from rival controllers in Somalia and the self-declared country of Somaliland to the north. The problem affects aircraft flying within about 150nm of Hargeisa, Somaliland’s main city.

The official air traffic control (ATC) authority for the area is based in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, which also gives its name to the area’s ATC flight information region (FIR).

However, New Zealand-based OPSGROUP, which monitors risks to airline operations, says that it has received “at least 10 reports of aircraft within the Mogadishu FIR being contacted by a second ‘controller’ on the same frequency, issuing conflicting instructions.

“Crews have been issued climb and descent clearances that are not from the sector controller.”

The cause of the problem is a political dispute between Somalia and Somaliland. The latter region emerged out of the country’s long civil war, but is not recognised internationally.

Earlier this year, both countries claimed authority over the Mogadishu FIR. 

OPSGROUP says that Somaliland “has to date maintained control over its airports, but Somalia controls the upper airspace from Mogadishu”.

The situation was worsened in February after Somaliland signed an agreement with neighbouring Ethiopia, with the latter granting port rights on Somaliland’s Red Sea coast.

In response, Somalia began restricting movements into Somaliland by denying airspace entry to the Mogadishu FIR in some instances. Retaliating in turn, Somaliland declared its right to exercise control over its airspace.

Conflicting instructions from different controllers – who both claim to be ‘Mogadishu Control’ – obviously present potentially serious risks to airliners.

IATA says that the Somali civil aviation authorities have issued a NOTAM with protocols for aircrew to follow if they receive conflicting ATC instructions, telling pilots to contact Mogadishu Control through alternative radio channels, such as satellite communications, to verify clearances.