Following an incredible experience visiting Mogadishu, Somalia, it was time to embark on my next adventure: seeing the wild gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As I wrote about in the inbound review, Ethiopian Airlines is one of the few major carriers that operates to Mogadishu and the only major airline that has daily direct service into Somalia. Thus, the choice was made to fly with Ethiopian on their all-white This specific flight was booked for 17, United Miles, while the routing consisted of Mogadishu-Addis Ababa-Kigali; this was a fantastic deal.
Overall, it was an interesting experience flying out of Mogadishu. The airport was not at all what I expected, and the flight itself was very good. Let's get into it! Tourism Bonus at the end of the report.
As I spoke about, we had to be inside the green zone by 4 pm due to it being closed after for security reasons. To enter the airport, passengers must first go through a brief security checkpoint. Although, I am not sure how intense this part of the security check are. When I arrived at the counters, check-in was an absolute mess. There were two lines for Ethiopian Airlines passengers, and there must have been about 80 people all lined up with checked bags per person.
As I didn't have a bag to check, I asked the agent if an online boarding pass would work, and to no surprise, I was met with a firm no. Airside, I was quite surprised to see the modern-looking terminal. There were a couple of restaurants and cafes, as well as toilets available. Priority pass holders: do not get your hopes up ha. The real excitement came from seeing some airlines that I had never heard of in my life…. Here's my next tip to you: bring USD to Somalia! The main currency used in the country is USD, and most places won't even take the local currency.
Settling down in a lovely cafe, I decided to order a Kit Kat and a coffee. While it was expensive 9 USD for a coffee, the presentation was incredible, and the taste was delicious. However, checking FlightAware, I could see that the inbound plane was landing late, which seems to be a common occurrence in Mogadishu.
