Emerging reports from Hyderabad, India, suggest that passengers heading to Somalia on Monday night have been left stranded at the airport after being informed that their flight to Somalia was cancelled.

This comes as the federal government of Somalia is embroiled in a diplomatic standoff with the United Arab Emirates following the approval by the cabinet council of Somalia on January 12th, 2026, to cancel all security, defense, and military cooperation agreements previously concluded with the United Arab Emirates.

Reports indicate cancelled flights were those heading to Bosaso, Puntland, after the cancellation of Air Arabia flights to Bosaso airport; currently passengers are stranded in Sharjah airport in the UAE.

The Somalia Cabinet council stated that the move to cancel agreements with the UAE is intended to safeguard Somalia’s sovereignty, national unity, and compliance with the provisional constitution.

The row between Somalia and the UAE was triggered following the allegations that a UAE aircraft was used to transport Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, the leader of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, through the Somali airspace without the knowledge and permission of the federal government.