Yemeni Official Denies Report on Reopening of Sana’a Airport
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An aviation official of the National Salvation Government in Yemen dismissed the media speculations about reopening of the Sana’a airport or lifting of a ban on the passenger planes.
Speaking to Tasnim on Friday, the Yemeni official denied reports circulated by the media outlets and social networks that the airport of Sana’a has reopened and the ban on the civil flights has been lifted.
The source said the aviation organization of Yemen has not received anything about the outcome of political consultations between the National Salvation Government’s delegation and the Saudi-led military coalition, mediated by Oman and the United Nations, that might result in the removal of ban on the civil flights as the first constructive step.
The construction and renovation work at the Sana’a airport have been in progress since a month ago and have nothing to do with the results of the efforts by the Omani delegation, the official added.
The source also noted that the Saudi-led coalition has kept the blockade on all Yemeni airports, expressing hope that the political consultations would result in the reopening of Sana’a airport and relieve the pains of Yemenis.
The Saudi Arabian-led coalition has controlled Yemen’s airspace since 2015, when it launched a war against Yemen to restore the government of fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who resigned in 2014 and then flee to Riyadh.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the war has killed almost a quarter of a million Yemenis, caused outbreaks of disease, turned Yemen into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and brought the poor Arab country to the verge of famine.
Yemeni Armed Forces have repeatedly warned the Saudi regime to end its fighting, threatening the regime with larger operations if it continues its aggression and siege.
Yemen’s Air Force has stepped up the retaliatory attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months.