Fokkernews February 2026 (issue 98)

General news

On 24 February 2026 the Somali Civil Aviation Authority has banned 11 aircraft registered in Malawi from operating in Somalia after regulatory violations were detected during inspections. The ruling mainly regards smaller charter and cargo operators serving domestic and humanitarian routes. Some 7Q-registered Fokkers might be involved, but we have no details.

Fokker F27, Fokker 50 & Fokker 60

c/n type new registration registration comment
10578 400M FAB-90 Bolivian Air Force. This Troopship, nearly 50 years of age, is reportedly still active in Apolo, Bolivia.
20108 50 ET-AZG Red Stars Aviation. Recently, the hex code indicated that this aircraft is very likely former 5Y-SED. This means that our preliminary identifications of both Red Stars Aviation F50s (20108 and 20232) were the wrong way around.
20177 50 6O-YAS Starsky Aviation F50 experienced a technical issue when taking off from Mogadishu airport for a flight to Galkayo. It returned to the airport for an emergency landing, veered off the runway, went down a cliff and ended on the shoreline. There were no casualties among the 5 crew and 50 passengers, but the F50 is a write-off.
20187 50 7Q-SAS Rayaan Air took their first F50 into service. It was seen with titles and tail logo on 17 February 2026 at Mogadishu. The F50 is leased from Maandeeq Air.
20193 50 7P-HRJ YV2917 Busy Bee Congo. During the second leg of the ferry flight from Fortaleza to Sal technical issues occurred, which necessitated the F50 returning to Fortaleza and eventually to Paramaribo. A new delivery attempt will be made in February.
20198 50 6O-GAM YV2948 Bestlink Air Services. Delivered from Paramaribo to Mogadishu via Fortaleza, Sal, Accra, Yaoundé and Entebbe from 1 to 5 February 2026. Made its inaugural flight from Mogadishu to Addis Ababa 13 February 2026 using VIP callsign SOM001, carrying the state president.
20232 50 7Q-SSK ET-AYZ Red Stars Aviation. Very probably this F50 is former 5Y-JXJ, see the other Red Stars Aviation F50 (20108) above. Mango Airlines in Kinshasa, Congo DR, bought this F50 in March 2025 from a Somalian company named Discovery Airways. Now 7Q-SSK has been identified, another mystery is solved.

Fokker F28, Fokker 70 & Fokker 100

c/n type new registration registration comment
11020 1000C TC-53 Argentine Air Force. After maintenance this Fellowship made a successful test flight at El Palomar Air Base on 4 February 2026. In contrast to what we wrote last month, this is currently the only active F28. In 2027 the type is planned to be withdrawn from service.
11203 4000 T-51 Argentine Air Force. This Fellowship is kept as a backup for sister TC-53 at El Palomar Air Base.
11281 100 VH-XWP Alliance Airlines. Last flight was from Cape Preston to Perth on 17 September 2025 as QQ734. It is now stored at Perth intact minus the engines with windows taped. It is intended to serve as a parts donor for the rest of the F100 fleet.
11312 100 VH-NHO Network Aviation, flying as QantasLink. Performed it last revenue flight on 26 January 2026 from Perth to Onslow and back as NWK1774/1775. Network then donated the F100 to the Historical Airliners Restauration Society (HARS). It was flown from Perth to Parkes, New South Wales on 10 February 2026 as NWK6236 for static display in the HARS museum at Parkes. The registration was stricken from the Australian register in February 2026.
11373 100 2-HFNU VH-FNU Airline Fleet Support. When this F100 was cancelled from the Australian register, it was indicated as 'exported to the Netherlands'. Despite this it was registered in Guernsey on 21 January 2026. The aircraft is still present at Woensdrecht.
11479 100 VH-NHI Network (QantasLink). Still seen at Perth on 24 February 2026, taped up and engines removed.
11488 100 VH-FNR Virgin Australia. After two months of storage, the F100 was flown from Perth to Townsville on 24 February using its registration as a flight number. Next destination is still unknown.
11515 100 VH-NHZ Network Aviation (QantasLink). Registration cancelled in February 2026; the aircraft is at Singapore-Seletar since December 2025 and destined for scrapping.
11565 70 VH-QQV Alliance Airlines. This F70 was seen at Perth 24 February 2026; condition unchanged since November 2025.

Amapola Flyg F50E SE-LIS (20152) was seen making a test flight at Malmö after maintenance. It is painted all white as it is offered for sale. (Sebbe Nilsson; Malmö, 20 February 2026)

 

During take-off from Mogadishu airport Starsky Aviation F50 6O-YAS (20177) suffered a technical issue and eventually came to a halt on the shoreline, very close to the airport. (Photographer undisclosed; Mogadishu, 10 February 2026)

 

A new Somalian airline is Rayaan Air, operating a former Avior F50 that is registered in Malawi as 7Q-SAS (20187). (Somali Spotter; Mogadishu, 17 February 2026)

 

Within one week two fully white F50s, formerly in service with Avior in Venezuela, were ferried from Paramaribo to Africa. The first one was 7P-HRJ (20193) destined for Busy Bee Congo. (Enzomike; Fortaleza, 26 January 2026)

 

The second white F50 on its way to Africa was 6O-GAM (20198), to be operated by Bestlink Air Services, which is associated with the Somalian government (Davi Ávila; Fortaleza, 1 February 2026)

 

The single F50 operated by Fajr Airlines, 5Y-GMI (20258) had the airline’s logo applied in the tail recently. (Somali Spotter; Mogadishu 13 February 2026)

 

The special badge carried by Star Airline F50 5Y-NWA (20307) is for winning the 'Best domestic airline 2025' trophy. (Photographer undisclosed; Mogadishu, 16 February 2026)

 

The arrival of the final flight of Network Aviation’s VH-NHO (11312) at Parkes airport, where it will be prepared for static exhibition in the HARS Aviation Museum. (Parkes Champion Post; Parkes, 10 February 2026)

Credits

All photographers named above, Airliners.net, Airlife.net, AMCAR, André Alders, Aviation Herald, Aviation Safety network, CH-Aviation, Gonzalo Carballo, Merv Crowe, Frank Ellemers, Walter de Groot, Greg Hyde, Thomas Jung, Mads Oyen, Henk Wadman, Willem Westerhof.