Sunday September 7, 2025
A passenger aircraft sits on the runway as crowds gather for the opening ceremony of Buur Hakaba’s new airport in South West state, Somalia, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2025. Local leaders say the facility will improve travel, trade, and humanitarian access in the region.
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia’s South West state on Saturday inaugurated a new airport in Buur Hakaba, giving residents direct air access as insecurity and crumbling roads continue to limit overland travel across the country.
South West state President Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen led the ribbon-cutting ceremony after flying in on the first passenger aircraft. Somali Civil Aviation Authority Director Ahmed Macallin Hassan, regional ministers, and hundreds of residents joined him to mark the long-awaited project.
“We have waited for years for an airport in Buur Hakaba,” Laftagareen said. “Today we open the first phase, and future phases will expand it into a full international airport with a paved runway.”
The president also pledged broader development in the town, promising new schools, a campus of South West University, a major hospital, and government offices.
The airport was built through collaboration between the South West administration and Buur Hakaba residents, who contributed funding alongside state support.
Transport Minister Hassan Abdi Nur Aden, part of the delegation, said Buur Hakaba, located 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the interim capital of Baidoa, had needed an airport for decades. He said the facility would ease the delivery of exam materials for students and secure voting equipment for upcoming elections.
“The idea came from the president, the funding from the people of Buur Hakaba, and the support from the state government,” the minister said. He recalled last travelling the Baidoa–Buur Hakaba road in 2008, describing it as unsafe and neglected.
Officials said the new facility is expected to spur economic growth by improving the flow of goods and services, creating jobs, and opening new opportunities for trade and investment in the Bay region. They also noted the airport would strengthen humanitarian response, allowing aid groups to deliver food, medicine, and emergency relief more efficiently to Buur Hakaba and nearby villages often affected by drought, flooding, and conflict.
Somalia has seen a surge in local airports as domestic airlines connect towns cut off by insecurity and militant attacks on major highways. The Buur Hakaba airstrip adds to this growing network, offering residents safer and faster travel across the country.
South West state President Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen (center left) joins officials in cutting a ribbon during the inauguration of Buur Hakaba’s new airport on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2025. The facility was built through collaboration between the state administration and local residents.