Mogadishu airport was established in 1928 with the name
Aeroporto di Mogadiscio-Petrella, the first such facility in the
Horn of Africa. It served as the main military airport for
Italian Somaliland. In the mid-1930s, the airport began offering civilian and commercial flights. A regular
Asmara-
Assab-Mogadishu commercial route was started in 1935, with an
Ala Littoria Caproni 133 providing 13-hour flights from the Mogadishu airport to
Italian Eritrea. The aircraft had a maximum capacity of 18 passengers, a record capacity at that time. In 1936, Ala Littoria launched an intercontinental connection between Mogadishu-Asmara-
Khartoum-
Tripoli and Rome. The voyage lasted four days and was one of the first long range flights in the world. During the post-independence period, Mogadishu International Airport offered flights to numerous global destinations. In the mid-1960s, the airport was enlarged to accommodate more international carriers, with the state-owned
Somali Airlines providing regular trips to all major cities. By 1969, the airport could also host small jets and DC 6B-type aircraft. The
Somali Air Corps (SAC) also used the airport at this time and had an airlift wing stationed in the capital. The SAC maintained a military academy at the airport that was used by all air force members. In the 1980s, the Somali federal government recruited the
U.S. Navy, its new
Cold War partner, to further enlarge the Mogadishu airport. The project included the construction of a modern control tower and navigational technology. The
Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SOMCAA), which then regulated the national aviation industry, also signed a contract with the Italian firm Selenia worth an estimated 17 billion Italian lire ($8.5 million). The agreement stipulated that the company would build a second terminal for international routes as well as a new control tower. The Italian firm was also tasked with supplying air traffic control equipment. With the collapse of the
Siad Barre regime and the ensuing
civil war, the airport's ongoing renovations came to a halt. Aviation operations also routinely experienced disruptions and the airport's grounds incurred significant damage. On 3 August 2006,
African Express Airways became the first international airline to resume regular flights to Mogadishu International Airport. On 8 June 2007, the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) announced that the airport would be renamed in honor of the first President of Somalia,
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, who had died earlier in the day. The following year, due to security risks brought on by the resumption of fighting in the wake of the
Ethiopian intervention, most civilian aircraft opted to land and depart from
K50 Airstrip, situated about 50 km from Mogadishu in
Lower Shabelle. However, in the late 2010 period, the security situation in Mogadishu had significantly improved, with the federal government eventually managing to assume full control of the capital by August of the following year. On 20 August 2012, the Aden Adde International Airport hosted the swearing in ceremony for many legislators in the nation's new
Federal Parliament. The event also saw the appointment of General
Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle as interim
President and Parliamentary Speaker. In 2013, the
International Civil Aviation Organization officially removed the airport from its Zone 5 list of airports deemed security risks. In June 2014, Minister of Air Transportation and Civil Aviation
Said Jama Qorshel announced that additional up-to-date technology earmarked for the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu would be delivered. As of June 2014, the largest services using Aden Adde International Airport include the Somali-owned private carriers
Daallo Airlines,
Jubba Airways and
African Express Airways, in addition to UN charter planes, The airport also offers flights to other Somali cities such as Baidoa,
Galkayo,
Berbera and
Hargeisa, as well as international destinations like
Djibouti,
Jeddah, and
Istanbul. As of November 2014, the airport accommodates more than 40 flights each day, up from 3 flights in 2011. A
Ugandan military helicopter crashed at the airport on July 2, 2025. ==Renovations==