Somalis expressed joy at the first landing of a plane at Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle Airport at night in 27 years.

This feat follows early September’s history made after the first football game was played under floodlight in three decades.

The Juba Airways flight from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia carrying Somali pilgrims landed Saturday night marking the official opening of the airport for passenger flights at night since the civil war broke out in 1991, local media report.

The government announced in July that it had opened the airport for night flights.

Somali civil aviation officials told local media that the runway has been reconstructed and security has been improved.

Before the plane carrying 193 passengers and 7 crew landed, Somalia’s national security agency performed security checks around the airport and beefed up their presence.

Somalis returning home usually make transits in Nairobi, Istanbul or Addis Ababa to catch a day flight.

Africanews