Sanaa airport: Houthi obstacles delay first commercial flight since 2016

Yemen’s national airline, Yemen Airways, announced Sunday that it was postponing the first commercial flight from Sanaa airport, which is controlled by Houthi militias, due to the obstacles put by the coup.

The first flight from Sanaa to Amman was scheduled to start Sunday, as part of a two-month truce that includes humanitarian and economic measures, as well as two commercial flights a week to Sanaa airport with specific destinations, including Jordan.

The Yemeni Airways confirmed that the first flight to the airport was postponed because it was not granted operating permits. The government admitted that the stumbling block was caused by the Houthi terrorist militia’s failure to abide by the Armistice Agreement, which stipulates the adoption of passports issued by the Sharia.

The airline’s statement said it “had started the ticket reservation procedures for passengers for the first flight and completed its technical preparations in terms of the arrival of the plane and the date of its take-off. After that, it returned to Sanaa International Airport from Amman”.

It expressed her regret that she was not allowed to operate the first flights from Sanaa International Airport. She also expressed her hope that “all problems will be overcome in the near future and that the company will be allowed to resume its flights from Sanaa”.

The plane operated by Yemen Airways was supposed to transport passengers over the age of 40 who needed medical treatment from Sana’a to Amman, but Houthi militias prioritized transporting wounded armed elements at the expense of patients.

The Yemeni government blamed Houthi militias for the disruption of the operation of the first commercial flight between Sanaa International Airport and Amman, Jordan.

“The trip, which was scheduled to start on Sunday (April 24th), was disrupted due to the non-compliance of Houthi terrorist militias with the agreement that stipulates the adoption of passports issued by the legitimate government”, said Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Muammar al-Eryani‏.

In a series of posts on his Twitter account, he added, “The Houthi terrorist militias are trying to impose 60 passengers on the flight with unreliable passports issued by them, in light of information confirming their plans to exploit flights during the two months of the truce to smuggle dozens of their leaders, and leaders and experts of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah under false names and false documents‏”.

Al-Eryani called on the international community, the United Nations and the UN envoy to put pressure on Houthi militias to stop manipulating this humanitarian issue, and to take citizens in areas under their control as hostages to reap gains, without regard for their conditions and their aggravated suffering. He also called for expediting the launch of the trip in implementation of the provisions of the UN-sponsored truce declaration.

Earlier, Yemeni sources said that the opening of Sanaa airport was planned to coincide with the opening of a humanitarian corridor to the city of Taiz. However, Houthi militias intended not to name their representatives to the United Nations to discuss with the Yemeni government in accordance with the truce initiative.

Houthi militias have also prioritized the travel of their wounded fighters on flights from Sana’a airport, which has limited the ability of civilian patients to travel and exacerbated their suffering after years of coups trading their pain.

Since 2016, UN and relief flights have been arriving daily at Sana’a airport with government and Arab coalition facilities to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, but Houthi militias have taken this as a pressure card to blackmail the UN.

The Houthis are seeking to make Sanaa airport civilian and more secure to legitimize its military exploitation and turn it into a threatening platform, as it did seven years ago.