> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Two Governments Are Fighting Over Who Can Sell Your Plane Ticket - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/somaliland-airline-ticket-ban/ - Published: 2026-10-25T18:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T18:00:01.000Z - Description: Somaliland just announced it won't accept plane tickets sold through Somalia's new ticketing system, even ones people already bought. It's the latest round in a long fight over airspace, visas and now tickets, with travelers caught in the middle. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: News Most travelers never think about who sold them their plane ticket. In Somaliland, that question just became a reason you could be turned away at the airport. On Sunday, Somaliland's aviation ministry announced it will no longer accept tickets issued through Somalia's ticketing system for flights out of Hargeisa and Berbera, the region's two main airports. The rule takes effect immediately, and it even applies to tickets people have already bought, including return tickets. --- ## What Somaliland and Somalia Are Fighting Over Somaliland, in the north of Somalia, has governed itself since 1991, with its own government, currency and visa rules. Most countries, though, still consider it part of Somalia, and the government in Mogadishu insists it is. For travelers, that unresolved question has turned flying there into a tug of war. The newest round is about tickets. Most tickets sold by travel agents around the world are processed through a system run by the airline trade group IATA, which collects the money from agents and pays the airlines. On October 18, Somalia relaunched that system in Mogadishu, at a ceremony attended by its prime minister, who called it part of the country's "national transformation agenda." A week later, Somaliland drew a line. "Effective immediately, tickets issued through Somalia's Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) will not be accepted" for departures from its airports, the ministry said. "This restriction also applies to previously issued tickets, including return tickets." Somaliland ยท Ticket Rules ### Will Your Ticket Be Accepted? Not accepted Tickets issued through Somalia's BSP Applies to Departures from Hargeisa and Berbera Includes Tickets already bought, even returns Still accepted Airline websites, apps, offices, airport counters Oct 18 Somalia relaunches its ticket billing system in Mogadishu. Oct 25 Somaliland stops accepting those tickets. Check yours now. Oct 31 Deadline for travel agents to get Somaliland licenses. Nov 1 Airlines may only use agents licensed by Somaliland. Contrail --- ## Which Tickets Still Work Somaliland says tickets are fine if they're bought directly from an airline's website or app, at an airline ticket office or airport counter, or through a travel agent licensed by Somaliland's own aviation department. Agents have until October 31 to get licensed, and from November 1, airlines may only work with agents that meet Somaliland's rules. Airlines have been told to review their bookings and tell affected passengers. What Somaliland hasn't said is how many travelers this affects, or what happens to someone who shows up for a flight home with a ticket that's no longer accepted. --- ## Not the First Fight Over the Skies This isn't the first time the dispute has landed on travelers. The two sides ended an agreement on managing the region's airspace in 2024\. Last year, Somalia began requiring an e-visa for travel to the country, which Somaliland, with its own visa on arrival, refused to apply. Somalia then warned flydubai and Ethiopian Airlines, the only international airlines flying to Hargeisa as of last year, that they could be fined for flying passengers without Somali visas. Somaliland responded by requiring every plane flying over its territory to get its permission first. Its aviation minister said about 40% of the roughly 90 flights that crossed its airspace each day had complied, and some flights that didn't were reportedly told to divert to Djibouti and Ethiopia. --- ## If You're Flying to or From Somaliland - **Check how your ticket was issued.** If you bought through a travel agent, ask whether it went through Somalia's BSP. If you booked directly with the airline, you should be fine. - **Contact your airline before you go,** especially if you already hold a return ticket from Hargeisa or Berbera. - **When in doubt, book direct.** Somaliland accepts tickets bought on airline websites and apps or at airline and airport counters. - **Expect more changes.** Each side has answered the other's moves within weeks, so rules could shift again before your trip.