Last week, I traveled on an Astral Aviation B727-200F flying from Nairobi, Kenya to Mogadishu, Somalia. It is one of only a few active B727s still flying!
The B727 freighter, registration 5Y-MWM, is 46-years-old but still going strong, operating frequent flights in harsh terrain from difficult airports.
Our aircraft carried 14 tons of food and general cargo, destined to supply the United Nations and other NGOs in Somalia.
Video
Nairobi to Mogadishu
Our flight departed from Nairobi’s Runway 06 around 9:00 am local time. Flight time was 1 hour 30 minutes, cruising at 27,000 ft. Astral flys regularly into Mogadishu; operating at least twice a week.
It took some time to become airborne, owing to Nairobi’s runway sitting 5300 feet above sea level. The high altitude reduced the aircraft’s performance naturally. Watch the full video on the engine start and takeoff scenes. Listen to the JT-8D engines roaring!
Captain Rafael conducted a special pre-landing briefing for Mogadishu, as the coastline of Somalia came into view. Aircraft must land from the sea in order to avoid rocket attacks.
It was Captain Rafael’s first time landing in Mogadishu, as he recently joined Astral and was operating a check flight under the supervision of Captain Oscar.
Video
Mogadishu, Somalia stop
Aden Abdulle Int’l Airport at Mogadishu was really busy this time, with a lot of regional and international flights in and out; it is the main aviation hub and the gateway to the rest of Somalia. We saw a lot of turboprops, such as Fokker 50 and Antonov 26s. A lot of passengers arrive from Nairobi, Djibouti, Addis Ababa, Dubai and Istanbul.
I was there once in 2014 flying African Express transiting Mogadishu from Dubai to Kenya.
Mogadishu to Nairobi
After all the cargo being offloaded, we return to Nairobi cruising at 28,000 ft. There was no cargo out of Somalia except empty crates.
What a great adventure to fly on the 46 year-old original Boeing 3 engine jet and a day in the life of a cargo pilot.
Captain Rafael made a butter landing in Nairobi (See it in the video). Here is a photo with the loadmaster, engineer, ground staff, security and pilot of Astral Aviation.
Our B727 parked next to a 46-year-old DC-9-34F. That will be my ride next.
Thanks to Astral Aviation for the access.
I do not think we will see any tourists in Somalia for a long time.
The rebells are very active and people get killed near this airport.
Lets hope for the best but it seems not to happen for years…
Hi,
Sam, I always keep my eyes on your latest review. Because I learned a lot from every review you posted on youtube. It’s an incredible cockpit view of the Boeing 727, and this is super classic.
They even wanted to fly those last ones till 2025,it should have typed out?
Surprised that old rust bucket has been given air-worthyness!
Its sort of reminds me of the 1990’s in the Uk when charter airlines were being allowed to fly in my mind ,well over due for the scrapyard birds! Its like BA with their B747’s pushed them for every pennys worth they could get back off buying them ! Dated as hell inside and as said thats why they went down the toilet compared to other airlines not afraid for ‘fleet renewal’ BA ,Certainly made this renewal thing wait as long as possible! Actually if it was not for covid ,they would still be flying those ‘past their sell by date’ machines now and with the dated cabins! They even wanted to fly those last ones till 2015 i read somewhere! Now thats takimng risks in my view! Glad they have gone,atleast you’ll get a B787 or A350 or A380 or B777 on their existing B747 routes!
I LOVE the 727…I was trained on this aircraft when joining Lufthansa as a Flight attendant…and I was more than happy to fly this old lady for many years till it was replaced by A320…😎
Thank you for your passion for old school jets, I absolutely enjoy your video coverage of the sexiest jet-age we have ever witnessed, never to be repeated!!!