Hada News
Somalia brings airline ticket settlement home after 35 years
The relaunch of IATA's Billing and Settlement Plan in Mogadishu on 18 October means accredited Somali travel agents can settle ticket sales with airlines through a national system instead of platforms abroad.
Somali travel agencies that sell airline tickets have spent decades paying airlines through settlement systems based in other countries. On Sunday 18 October, at a ceremony in Mogadishu, the Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) run by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was formally switched back on for Somalia by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, which the state news agency SONNA said the country had regained after 35 years.
How BSP works. Under the plan, accredited agents report their ticket sales and pay what they owe into one central system, which then passes the money on to each participating airline. Refunds, commissions and billing adjustments run through the same online platform. Agents need IATA accreditation to use it.
How it got here. IATA opened a pilot on 30 April 2026 involving four Somali agencies and a handful of carriers flying to Somalia, Ethiopian Airlines among them. The stated aim was to bring in every airline and the 300-plus agencies operating locally. Somalia Today notes that no new figures on how many agencies or airlines have joined were given at the relaunch. IATA's Africa and Middle East regional vice-president, Kamil Al-Awadhi, was present.
What officials expect. Barre credited institutional reform, new regulations and staff training, and ordered faster upgrades to airports and flight services. The civil aviation authority's director-general, Ahmed Moallim Hassan, said the system should help trade and tourism and smooth dealings with foreign airlines. The government expects agencies to rely less on settlement systems outside the country.
Why it matters: Kulan Post reports that transport minister Mohamed Farah Nuh has tied the move to plans to make Mogadishu a Horn of Africa hub, pointing to demand from the Somali diaspora. For local agents, a settlement link at home should mean a direct line to airlines and tighter financial oversight.