Review of Ethiopian Airlines flight from Mogadishu to Addis Ababa in Economy

Intro

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 737-800. This specific flight was booked for 17,500 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)

Mogadishu Airport, Soomaaliya

Heading straight from lunch on Liido Beach and swimming the Somali Ocean (is that it, or should I call it the Indian Ocean? The Somali Ocean sounds cooler 😅), we headed to the airport around 3 pm local time for the 6 pm departure. 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 2-3 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. 45 minutes later, I finally had my boarding pass printed…

Bidding farewell to my guide, he showed me to the immigration counters, where I finally got my exit stamp to Mogadishu before proceeding onward through the main security check. Ahh, yes, we had not only completed Somalia but had a lovely time in the country 🙂.

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. When in Somalia, am I right 😉?

Boarding/Departure MGQ

5:00 pm local time came around, and boarding was scheduled to begin shortly. However, checking FlightAware, I could see that the inbound plane was landing late, which seems to be a common occurrence in Mogadishu.

There are three main gates at the airport. To access the gate area, you must present your boarding pass to the agent at the front. Settling into one of the seats, we were instructed to place all of our bags against the window so that the dogs could proceed to sniff them before boarding.

For the first time in a while, I felt unbelievably relaxed. A woman from the US, working with the United Nations, approached me, and we began talking about Somalia. She lightly mentioned to me that wearing swim trunks in the airport was extremely disrespectful and I should probably change. To be honest, she had a point, and I should have known this beforehand (it slipped my mind).

At 5:40 pm, it was finally time to leave Mogadishu, as the agents announced boarding for ET379. Sad to leave, passengers were ushered onto the bus as we headed on the short ride over to our 737-800. 

It was unbelievably peculiar to see so many UN and WFP planes, with the odd local airlines thrown in there. 

Stepping off the bus, we were greeted by yet another all-white 737-800 (different from the last one). There's something eery about stepping onto a plane that doesn't have a livery. 

Once onboard, I settled into my seat for today's flight 14A. I have previously reviewed the cabin in the last report: the seat is pretty basic, and there is no wifi, but it is a comfortable seat with plenty of padding. 

Lucking out with an empty seat next to me, the announcement of boarding complete came right on the stroke of 6:00 pm. However, there I was expecting some drama for some reason. Do you get me (this is the number one English saying I heard in the county which is a bit peculiar, just like Mozambique and "sometimes")?

Lol. The bus broke down in front of the plane 🤣. Honestly, you cannot make it up if you tried.

So we sat, and we sat, and we sat. The captain came out of the cockpit to try and find another way to depart, such as finding a pushback tug (I think), but to no avail. I must imagine that a stranded plane with passengers boarded in Mogadishu is the last thing Ethiopian Airlines wants to have.

By 6:45 pm, they somehow had found a way to move the bus, and we began our taxi out to the runway. Another interesting thing I noticed is that planes land from the South and take off to the South over the ocean. It does not matter about which way the winds are blowing.

After a beautiful takeoff roll with the last of the East African sunset, we were wheels up on the 657-mile flight to Addis Ababa. 

The Flight

Leaving Somalia behind, it was time to reflect on the trip. Thinking about what I had just done, a great sense of relief fell over me. Somalia and Libya are probably the two hardest countries in my eyes** to visit, and I had just done one of the two.

Anyway, I was hungry, but it was time to eat! 20 minutes after takeoff, the flight attendant came around to offer passengers a choice of either chicken or beef for dinner.

The food was divine, as I've come to expect on Ethiopian, as well as the red wine that they served. 

Seeing as I was tired from the past 10 days traveling Africa, I tucked in for a little nap. 

Arrival

I must have been absolutely shattered, as I happened to wake up while we were on a remote stand at Addis Ababa. After a flight time of an hour and 40 minutes, we landed 35 minutes behind schedule in the capital of Ethiopia. 

While I am not a fan of remote stands (in general), Ethiopian Airlines makes this process very straightforward and efficient. Within minutes, I was at transit security. 

Unfortunately, I made the decision to throw away this real shark tooth that a local gave me in Mogadishu. I had heard stories about certain countries in Africa arresting people for having certain items, and I just couldn't take the risk. Sad, but I think it was the right decision. 

With that, I must leave you from the Somali series. I hope you have enjoyed it, and I will be taking a very quick break from the Africa series to write a couple of reviews from a recent status run!

Thank you, Somalia, thank you for your kindness and generosity, and I hope to see you soon for a fishing expedition 🙂.

Tourism Bonus Mogadishu

My Safety Opinions

Every time someone asks me, "Why did you go to Somalia?" there is always the follow-up question consisting of "Is it safe"? Well, I thought it would be a cool idea to touch on the safety aspect of a tourist visiting Somalia. As always, these are my views, and they are honest ones. 

I am going to be frank with you: visiting Somalia is not a destination that I recommend for a family holiday with 3 children or even for your honeymoon. Going to this country is for people who enjoy adventure travel, and would be okay if something went awry.

During my time in Mogadishu, I found that my experience was relatively* safe but with lots of conditions. Almost everywhere I went, I wasn't allowed to walk around and had to be transported in a bulletproof vehicle and 2 armed escorts in the back with AK-47s.  

While I felt safe during my time there, barring the incident with the police, it was an experience that felt constricted. With Al Shabab active in the country, these precautions are necessary if you aren't of Somali descent (at least required by the tour operator). It's a beautiful country that I feel has potential, but it is probably the one country I have visited where I did need a military escort.

The Green Zone

In Mogadishu, there is an area of the city that I have never experienced in any other place across the world: the green zone. Perhaps the most fortified place in the world featuring the Ugandan army, the Kenyan army, and other African countries have set up checkpoints every 200 meters for vehicles entering the green zone.

Every 200 meters, there will be a checkpoint where passengers attempting to enter the green zone will be thoroughly screened. This is nothing like crossing a border; there are military towers and concrete barriers representing a "snake" to make sure it is impossible to get out quickly.

However, once you are inside, you are set. If you are a business traveler, you will be staying in the green zone. If you work for the United Nations of WFP, you will be staying in the green zone. If you work diplomatically, you will be staying in the green zone…

Keep in mind the green zone is only open from 8 am-4 pm daily, and if you miss the time slot for getting in, you will be unable to spend the night inside.  

The Fish Market

One of the staple pieces of Somalia's business is the fishing industry. Located in downtown Mogadishu, it is one of the largest fish markets in the country. Countless fishermen spend days on the seas to come back in the morning and sell their fish for 50 cents a kilo, even for yellowfin tuna.

While I am a fisherman, I am strictly catch and release for billfish.

When I say Somalia has fish, I have never seen so many gamefish in a market in the world. Everything you could think of, from Mackerel to Yellowfin to Marlin to Sharks to Sailfish to Turtles. 

What really shocked me was seeing the turtles being killed. At first, I held an ethnocentric perspective since I didn't understand why they would kill these magnificent creatures. However, my guide told me that the reason is that turtles contain natural medicines for healing the flu and colds. I still don't think it's right, but it is also not my place to judge as it's not my culture, and I don't know much about it. I don't want to post a picture of a dead turtle on here sorry.

Tour Of The Lighthouse

Visiting the lighthouse in Mogadishu, Somalia, was one of the highlights of my trip to the country. It showcased the ongoing trend of this trip, showing how beautiful the country is and how war-torn it is. If you are planning on heading to Somalia, this will definitely be on the agenda with any tour that you book.

Which brings me to my next point: pictures. While pictures are relatively frowned upon, they can be taken in dedicated areas where your guide will tell you. It can cause serious issues if you take any pictures with government buildings in the background, and make sure there are no police around.  

Lunch+Swimming Liido Beach

There are few places in the world that are more beautiful than the ocean in Mogadishu, and this lunch was nothing short of fantastic.

My guide has arranged and pre-ordered everything, including this local juice. In addition, I learned that a lot of the food for these restaurants has been imported from Turkey. Interestingly, Turkey has the largest embassy in Somalia and is the only embassy not in the "green zone."

The first story:

As my guide explained, he feels that the world views Somalia as rotten. One day, he explained how someone was eating some fish from the Somali waters, and he claimed the fish was rotten. He let his friends know that all the fish from the ocean were rotten and so on and so on. 

The second story:

My guide continued explaining to me how the world views Somalia in his eyes. For those who are unaware, the second biggest resource in Somalia is livestock, and thus, the country tries to trade this. Somalia had set up a deal with a country in the Middle East for thousands of goats, and the country was going to make a healthy profit. As the thousands of goats crossed the ocean, a couple of them died (which is quite normal for the duration of the journey apparetntly). Upon arrival, the country declined all of the goats due to the deaths of a few of them. Thus, they had to transport all of them back to Somalia after making no money on the trade.

There are always two sides to any story, but it was really interesting to hear this and listen. 

Spaghetti (imported from Turkey) and fresh Kingfish

Swimming+Football On The Beach

As any person who has heard the gossip about Somalia, it always seems to revolve around Pirates. So, when my guide said that we would be going swimming in the ocean (usually where Pirates are), I was a little bit like, uhh, what on earth, at first? In addition, Somalia is known to have an extremely large population of sharks, from threshers to makos and more.

Interestingly, no armed escorts are allowed to be on the beach, at least with their rifles, that is. As I left my belongings with the unarmed escort on the beach, my guide and I ran through the Somali sand and dove right into the ocean head first.

If I am going to go swimming in Somalia, I will run and jump in… 

The first thing I noticed after diving into the water was how salty it was. Never in my life have I encountered this kind of saltiness in an ocean (I know the ocean is always saltwater, but this is next level). We sat around swimming and talking for 15 minutes or so until my adrenaline wore off, and I started to get afraid of sharks 🤣.

A long, long time ago, my thing was football, or as Americans like to call it, "soccer." Before going to Somalia, I was told that kids usually come around after school to play football on the beach, and I should join in. I ended up joining in for a little bit, and gosh, are they good players! In addition, I was apprecaite of how welcoming they were to include me in their circle as we juggled. Naturally, I let the ball drop one too many times 😂.

Getting Pulled Over By Police

The First Time

Originally, we were heading off from the fish market to the lighthouse when we heard sirens go off. As I am sitting on the passenger side (for safety reasons), I check the window to see the army pulling us over. I was instructed not to get out of the car at any cost, no matter what. The guide was outside, as were my two security escorts and the driver. Supposedly, the army claimed that my guide's license was fake, even if he had been operating for 15 years. After 20 minutes of back and forth, we got away with a bribe, and it was all fine. 

The Second Time

This was a bit scarier, and we weren’t exactly pulled over. The Commander of The Somalia Army for the district tracked us down as we were getting into our vehicle and asked to speak to me. It was everything you see in the movies, including sunglasses and AK47s, and one of them even had a bandana. After reading some previous experiences, I’m not gonna lie; my heart skipped a beat for a minute. Then, the commander took the guide away, and I was left with one of my security escorts and 3 members of the army.

Eventually, my guide came back and explained that they wanted us to go down to the station for further talks (heck no😅), but we somehow got away with paying a hefty bribe, or as my guide liked to call it, "lunch money".

All that to say, it might have been a little frightening at the moment, but it wasn’t really that bad afterward. Somalia is a beautiful place with beautiful people, but I’ll be honest to say that corruption is prominent😂. It’s also no worse corruption-wise than Nigeria. going to the toilet? 500 Naira for the person showing you the way.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this tourism bonus in a country that is rarely shown online. It certainly has its beauty, but it's not perfect. To be honest, what place is? 

I usually don't post tourism bonuses that are this long, but really wanted to share sorry🙂. Mahadsanid 🇸🇴