As part of its recently announced alliance with the Kenyan-based Regional Air service, British Airways (BA) is looking into the use of Hargeysa airport, capital of the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia. Local sources confirmed to IRIN that a British Airways representative recently stayed in Hargeysa to inspect the security standards of the airport, which is now used for international flights. Regional Air recently began direct flights from Nairobi to Hargeysa. Under the BA-Regional Air alliance, the local airline will use the BA code, and the planes will be painted with BA colours, the Kenyan ‘Daily Nation’ said on 8 June. Access by air to Somali territories has been extremely limited - and in some places completely absent - since the collapse of the central government in 1991. Somali sources said international flights would significantly reduce international isolation, and improve economic development.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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