{{Short description|Somali private airline}} {{Infobox airline | airline = Air Somalia | image = Air Somalia Tupolev Tu-154.jpg | image_size = 250px | alt = An Air Somalia Tupolev Tu-154, registration UR-85546, sitting idle on the taxiway at Sharjah International Airport. The livery is a blue stripe that spans the entire length of the plane, the line's location is just along the passenger windows. The tail fin is fully blue. Above the blue line is the text "Air Somalia", with a star next to it. | caption = Air Somalia Tupolev Tu-154 at Sharjah International Airport | IATA = — | ICAO = RSM | callsign = AIR SOMALIA | founded = {{start date|2001}} | commenced = {{start date|2001|02|14}} | ceased = {{end date|2002}} | bases = | hubs = Aden Adde International Airport | secondary_hubs = | focus_cities = | frequent_flyer = | alliance = | subsidiaries = | fleet_size = 1 | destinations = | company_slogan = | parent = | traded_as = | ISIN = | headquarters = Mogadishu, Somalia | key_people = * Ali Farah Abdulleh (CEO) | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | profit = | assets = | equity = | num_employees = | website = {{URL|airsomalia.com}} {{sup|a}} | notes = {{plainlist |a. Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20010223171407/http://airsomalia.com/ Wayback Machine]. }} }} '''Air Somalia''' was a privately owned airline based in Somalia. It was the first private airline owned entirely by Somali nationals.
==Overview== The carrier was established in 2001.<ref name="Aiupsom">{{cite web|title=Airlines in Somalia |url=http://www.airlineupdate.com/content_public/airlines/africa/somalia.htm |publisher=AirlineUpdate |accessdate=6 December 2014 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203053621/http://www.airlineupdate.com/content_public/airlines/africa/somalia.htm |archivedate=December 3, 2010 }}</ref> It provided internal passenger and international services to destinations in Africa and the Middle East.<ref name="Africa Book">{{cite book |author1=Europa Publications |editor1-last=Murison |editor1-first=Katharine |title=Africa South of the Sahara 2004 |publisher=Europa Publications |isbn=1-85743-183-9 |page=1014 |edition=33rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jj4J-AXGDaQC |accessdate=14 April 2019 |language=English |date=2004 |quote=Mogadishu; f. 2001; operates internal passenger services and international services to destinations in Africa and the Middle East}}</ref> Air Somalia is now out of service, and in 2002 its one Tupolev Tu-154 they had was stored and later scrapped.{{cn|date=November 2025}} In 2002, Air Somalia reported it ceased all operations and has liquidated all of its assets.<ref name="scrapped">{{cite web |title=Air Somalia has ceased operations, all shares have been returned or liquidated. |url=https://kaitak.airlinesim.aero/action/info/country?id=153 |website=AirlineSim |publisher=AirlineSim |accessdate=14 April 2019}}</ref>
==History== Air Somalia was banned from flying to Somaliland in June 2001. It was suspected that the airline was practicing unsafe flights. Somali media accused the ban of being unfair, claiming that the reason for the ban was that the airline name included the word "Somalia" and possessed a Somali star. However, Somaliland Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport for Somaliland Abdillahi Duale disputed this.<ref name="Somaliland">{{cite news |title=Horn of Africa: IRIN Update, 8 May |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/eritrea/horn-africa-irin-update-8-may |accessdate=14 April 2019 |work=Horn of Africa |agency=Relifweb |publisher=IRIN |date=8 May 2001 |orig-year=First published 1971 |language=English}}</ref>
==Fleet== ===History=== Air Somalia had only one aircraft, a Tupolev Tu-154, which had gone through three registration changes while it was owned by Air Somalia. The aircraft was manufactured sometime in the 1990s. It was owned by five previous airlines, Aeroflot, Latavio-Baltic International, Latavio, Tavria and Tavria Mak. It was finally given to Air Somalia on 21 December 2000. It was stored on 17 January 2002.{{cn|date=November 2025}} The aircraft was seen at Dubai International Airport on 31 October 2002,{{cn|date=November 2025}} and again at Sharjah International Airport on 28 January 2003.{{cn|date=November 2025}}
===Registration changes=== During its time with Air Somalia, the Tupolev Tu-154 has had its tail number changed four times. When the plane was delivered to Air Somalia, its registration number was UR-85546. On 21 September 2001, its registration was changed to ER-TAI, to later be changed back to UR-85546 on 3 November 2001. Its registration number was changed for the final time to ER-TAI on 30 December 2001.{{cn|date=November 2025}}
===Table===
{| class="wikitable" |+Fleet |- !rowspan="2"|Aircraft ! rowspan="2"|Count !colspan="3"|Passengers !rowspan="2"|Notes !rowspan="2"|Refs |- !<abbr title="Business">C</abbr> !<abbr title="Economy">Y</abbr> !Total |- |Tupolev Tu-154||1||||||||Tail number fluctuated between <br> UR-85546 and ER-TAI.||<ref name="scrapped"/> |- !Total !1 !colspan="5"| |}
==See also== *Jubba Airways *Daallo Airlines *Somali Airlines
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}}
{{portal bar|Somalia|Aviation}} {{Airlines of Somalia}}
Category:Airlines established in 2001 Category:Airlines disestablished in 2002 Category:Defunct airlines of Somalia Category:2001 establishments in Somalia Category:Companies based in Mogadishu