Djibouti's Daallo Airlines reassures customers

 Djibouti’s Daallo Airlines Thursday said that a Dubai-bound flight was “not affected” after news popped up that a Daallo plane from Mogadishu was the target of an alleged terrorist attacker on November 13, 2009.

On that day, a young Somali man attempting to board the plane at Mogadishu airport carrying suspicious white powder, liquid and syringes, was held by Somali officials. The incident was only revealed this Wednesday following investigations on the botched attempt to blow up a US-bound plane on December 25 by a Nigerian man. According to a statement by Ahmad Ali Aftooje, police chief at Mogadishu airport, the incident showed similarity of the chemicals. The Somali man is believed to be a member of the local insurgent group Harakat Al Shabaab Mujahideen and was taken into custody in Mogadishu.

“We don’t have any more information about the case,” a Daallo Airlines spokesperson told Gulf News yesterday from her headquarters in Dubai. “The man did not board the airplane and the flight was not affected. We can give no further comment on this.”

The aircraft was bound for Dubai via stops in Hargeisa (Somaliland) and Djibouti. It was not clear if the man’s final destination was Dubai or one of the other cities.

Expansion plans

Daallo Airlines, the national carrier of Djibouti, started operations in 1991 with regional Cessna flights and later launched direct flights to Paris and London Gatwick on Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Several feeder flights connect Djibouti to a number of Somali towns including the capital Mogadishu. Daallo also operates scheduled flights to Jeddah, Addis Ababa and Nairobi from Djibouti.

In 2008, Dubai World subsidiary Istithmar World Aviation bought a stake in Daallo Airlines to form a strategic partnership. The airline announced that it is planning to enhance its schedule with a focus on the Horn of Africa and other “new markets” in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) region.

Daallo Airlines currently operates Boeing and Airbus planes for long-haul flights to Europe as well as Antonov and Illyushin-planes for Somali and African passenger and cargo operations.

source : gulfnews