Master (Thesis)

Includes references (98 - 118 p.)

Since 1991, Somalia has lacked a stable government system. Following its independence in 1960, a military coup in 1969 led to an authoritarian regime under General Siad Barre. Over time, the military regime became more authoritarian and opposition militias emerged to overthrow it. After the overthrow of the military regime in 1991, Somali civil aviation suffered severe destruction, as clan militias destroyed airports and infrastructure. The national carrier ceased operations and the country lost airspace management, resulting in the suspension of international flights due to civil war and political instability. The emergence of the Islamic Movement in 2006 worsened civil aviation disruption in its attempt to destabilize the government and isolate it globally. Somalia is still recovering from prolonged political chaos and insecurity, which has severely impacted its civil aviation facilities. This thesis aims to reveal the security challenges of Somali civil aviation industry in the post-conflict era. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with Somali civil aviation stakeholders including aviation security inspectors, advisors, airport managers, and air traffic controllers associated with the Somali Civil Aviation Authority. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling and interviewed using Zoom. Manual Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the Somali Civil Aviation security situation has improved in recent years by attracting a number of well-known international carriers but still faces multidimensional security threats, including political instability, terrorism threats, poor technological infrastructure, lack of sufficient employee knowledge, regulatory deficiency, lack of security awareness, and lack of sufficient budget. These findings align with those of studies conducted by the African Development Bank, the Somali Ministry of Planning, Investment, and Economic Development, and the Ministry of Public Works, Housing, and Reconstruction. This study recommends that the Somali government, Somali Civil Aviation Authority, and other stakeholders focus on training and capacity building, resource allocation, policy and collaboration, technological upgrades, and strategic implementation and monitoring. Key words: Security Challenges, Somali Civil Aviation, Post-conflict Era.

Text in English.