Somaliland’s Minister of Aviation, Farhan Adan Haybe denied reports of Turkish Airlines ‘taking over’ Hargeisa Egal International Airport in a press release from his Ministry on Saturday.
A group of media outlets in Somaliland ran a fake news story this week claiming that Turkish Airlines reached a deal with the Ministry of Aviation to take over Egal International Aiport.
“Reports of Turkish Airlines ‘taking over’ Egal International airport are completely false. Turkish Airlines has no airports under their control. Airlines do not take over airports. Our government has no plans to privatize Egal International Airport. Our meetings with officials from the Government of Turkey and Turkish Airlines were solely based on launching direct flights to Somaliland and renovating the airport. We urge all media outlets to fear God during this holy month and to stop publishing lies,” Haybe said in the press release.
It is not known whether the Ministry will take any action against the sites that published the fake story.
