The parking lot of Sanaa International airport stands empty in a photo from Sept. 23, 2021, after the airport was closed due to Yemen's civil war. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images)

Houthis Reopen Sanaa Airport to Humanitarian Aid Flights

The Media Line Staff

12/28/2021

The Houthis said they are temporarily allowing United Nations humanitarian flights to land at the airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The announcement on Tuesday came a week after the Iran-backed rebels canceled the humanitarian aid flights due to airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Iran-backed rebels. The Houthis said that the airport had become “unserviceable due to technical issue.” The Houthis also said that they are waiting to receive “communication and navigation devices … into Sanaa airport to replace the old ones.”

“The civil aviation authority announces the resumption of UN and other organization flights into Sanaa airport on a temporary basis,” the Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported.

While the Saudi coalition has prevented most flights from landing at the airport in Sanaa since the Houthis took over the capital in 2016, it has made an exemption for humanitarian aid flights. The coalition earlier this week accused the Houthis of militarizing the airport, and of using is as the main center for firing rockets and drones at Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera reported.

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