Galkayo Airport
Overview
During the 1982 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, the airport was bombed by several waves of Ethiopian Air Force jets. The attackers launched bombs and rockets at both the runway and the anti-aircraft defenses protecting it, but missed their targets. The runway which at the time was in the process of being extended, was undamaged by the attack.
Like most of Galkayo, the Abdullahi Yusuf Airport is administered by the autonomous Puntland government. It has acted as a buffer zone between the divided city's two main divisions. Taxes collected by the airport authority are split equally between the Puntland and Galmudug administrations, facilitating relations between the two regional authorities.
On 25 March 2012, the facility was officially renamed in memory of the late Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the former President of Somalia, who was born in Galkayo.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Jubba Airways | Garowe, Mogadishu |
Accidents and incidents
| Date | Location | Aircraft | Tail number | Aircraft damage | Fatalities | Description | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 April 2012 | Galkayo | GR-Avia Antonov | 3X-GEB | W/O | 0/36 | A Jubba Airways aircraft on flight 6J-711 from Hargeisa to Galkayo veered right off runway 05L while landing in clear weather conditions. Captain indicated that his flight crew overflew so as to avoid collision with a goat or dog that had wandered onto the runway. The 32 passengers and 4 crew were not injured. However, the plane incurred significant damage. |
Non-aviation security incidents
On 7 April 2014 a Briton and a Frenchman working for the United Nations were shot dead by a man in a police uniform while they sat in their car at Galkayo airport. A U.N. mission spokesman said it was not clear who was behind the attack. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. Security Council both strongly condemned the attack and called on Somali authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
On 2 October 2017 the airport's chief of security, Colonel Abdisalan Sanyare Owke, and his bodyguard, were shot dead by a policeman. The assailant's motive was not immediately clear.
References
- ^ "Handy Galcaio airport information from Skyscanner".
- ^ Galcaio (GLK) Somalia Archived 19 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Accident: GR-Avia AN24 at Galkayo on Apr 28th 2012, burst tyres, veered off runway and broke up". The Aviation Herald.
- ^ Woodward, Peter; Forsyth, Murray Greensmith (1994). Conflict and Peace in the Horn of Africa: Federalism and Its Alternatives. Dartmouth Publishing Company. pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-1-85521-486-6.
- ^ Somalia: Puntland businessman elected new Galkayo mayor Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Africa Review - Galkayo: A peaceful island in Somalia". 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ "Somalia: Col. Abdullahi Yusuf Laid to Rest". Garowe Online (Garowe). 26 March 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ Accident: GR-Avia AN24 at Galkayo on Apr 28th 2012, burst tyres, veered off runway and broke up, The Aviation Herald, retrieved on 28 May 2012.
- ^ Two foreign U.N. workers killed in Somalia, Reuters.com, 7 April 2014. Accessed on 10 November 2020.
- ^ Police chief at airport in Somalia's Puntland shot dead, Goobjooge.com, 2 October 2017. Accessed on 10 November 2020.
External links
- Galkayo: A peaceful island in Somalia Archived 10 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Galcaio Airport or Galkayo Airport or Gaalkacyo Airport (GLK) Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Accident history for GLK at Aviation Safety Network
