Saturday July 16, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali government officials attended the inaugural launch on Friday of the Freedom Airline-owned Airbus 320-211 plane.
The plane, which has a range of over 6,000 km, made its first flight from Nairobi to Mogadishu. Freedom Airlines said that it plans to connect Mogadishu to several international destinations - including South Africa and Egypt - with direct flights.
The Director General of the Somali Civil Aviation Authority, Ahmed Moalim Hassan, congratulated Freedom Airlines for advancing Somali aviation and welcomed the plans to launch new routes to African and Arab countries.
The manager of Freedom Airlines, Mukhtar Hamud, said that he felt his company completed a significant accomplishment with the inaugural flight of the Airbus 320-211.
"The pilots of the plane are Somalis licensed by the Somali government. Somali passengers will feel happy when they see Somali pilots speaking to them in their language", he said.
A delegation led by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud travelled with the first flight from Mogadishu to Nairobi.