# Somaliland Government Announces Firing of 42 Hargeisa Airport Workers

> Somaliland government announced it fired 42 Hargeisa airport workers on August 26, 2019, per Somaliland Standard, amid an airspace row with Somalia.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 30 September 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Infrastructure and Services
- Tags: utilities, drainage
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/somaliland-government-announces-firing-42-hargeisa-airport-workers

## Key points

- Somaliland Standard reported on 26 August 2019 that the Somaliland government announced it had fired 42 workers operating at Hargeisa airport.
- The report, citing unnamed reports, said ICAO pays the workers' salaries, while also indicating the Somali Federal Government pays them.
- The report does not establish what happened to the workers or airport operations after that date.

On 26 August 2019, Somaliland Standard reported that the Somaliland government announced it had fired 42 workers operating at Hargeisa airport. The report, published amid what the outlet described as a worsening airspace row between Somalia and Somaliland, does not establish what has happened to those workers or the airport since that date.

The report states that the workers were told they must prove they are not part of the airport staffers that Somalia claimed were under its authority. The Somaliland government's Civil Aviation Agency Director General, Mr. Mohamud Ismail Elmi, ordered the staffers to bring letters confirming they had resigned from jobs offered by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to the report.

The report contains conflicting claims about who paid the workers' salaries. It says, according to unnamed reports, that ICAO pays the salaries of the sacked workers. Later, it says further reports indicate the workers were told to tender resignations to ICAO because their salaries are paid by the Somali Federal Government. No payroll records or ICAO statement are cited to resolve the contradiction.

The report lists roles said to have been relieved of duty, including Air Traffic Controllers, AIS Officers, MET Officers, Fire Fighters, Marshallers and Technicians. It does not provide a numerical breakdown of the 42 workers by role.

Somaliland Standard characterised the Somali Federal Government as a "weak SFG installed in Mogadishu" that had recently announced it had officially assumed control of its airspace and the revenues generated from flights from ICAO. The report does not give a date for that announcement.

The Somaliland Standard report does not say whether ICAO or the Somali Federal Government responded publicly to the firings, whether the workers were reinstated or rehired, or how airport services were affected.

## Questions

### Why were 42 Hargeisa airport workers fired in August 2019?

Somaliland Standard reported on 26 August 2019 that the Somaliland government fired the workers amid an airspace row with Somalia, after telling them to prove they were not part of staffers Somalia claimed were under its authority.

### Who paid the fired Hargeisa airport workers' salaries?

The report cites unnamed reports saying ICAO paid them, but also cites further reports saying the Somali Federal Government paid them. No payroll evidence is provided to confirm either claim.

### What roles did the fired Hargeisa airport workers hold?

According to Somaliland Standard, the workers' roles ranged from Air Traffic Controllers, AIS Officers, MET Officers, Fire Fighters, Marshallers to Technicians. No numerical breakdown by role was given.

## Sources

- [Somaliland: Hargeisa Airport Authority Suspends Workers Paid by ICAO](https://somalilandstandard.com/somaliland-hargeisa-airport-authority-suspends-workers-paid-by-icao/) — Somaliland Standard, 2019-08-26