Ministry of Transport: Suspension of Flights Through Sana’a Airport Reflects US-Saudi Lack of Seriousness for Peace

An official source at the Ministry of Transport considered the suspension of Yemenia Airlines flights through Sana’a International Airport as a sign of the aggressor countries’ lack of seriousness in pursuing peace, showing disregard for all efforts made in this regard.

The source emphasized that this reflects the criminal determination to maintain the blockade and intensify the suffering of the Yemeni people, especially patients and travelers.

According to Saba News Agency, the source stated that what has been published by the management of the airlines in the occupied city of Aden is an indication of putting itself as a cheap tool in the hands of the countries involved in aggression to continue the blockade, intensify the suffering of the Yemeni people, and close Sana’a Airport.

The source pointed out that the company has spread falsehoods and claims far from reality.

The source at the Ministry of Transport affirmed that the claims that the company’s funds are frozen or prohibited are false and baseless allegations. The evidence for this is that all employee salaries and dues in the company throughout Yemen are disbursed from the company’s funds in Sana’a, which amount to two million dollars monthly. During the previous period, approximately thirty-six million dollars from the company’s funds in Sana’a were disbursed to cover operating expenses.

The source also noted that ten million dollars from the value of the recently purchased aircraft (A320) was disbursed from the company’s funds in Sana’a, in accordance with agreements between the parties involved in the management of Yemenia Airlines.

The source also considered the information provided by the company’s management in Aden, claiming that the company’s funds in Sana’a amount to eighty million dollars, an attempt to conceal the fact that the company holds balances in its other accounts in Aden and abroad, exceeding one hundred million dollars. It was previously agreed upon to disburse funds from all company accounts at specified percentages.

The source at the Ministry of Transport condemned the company’s use of flight suspension as a tactic and manipulation of operations to and from Sana’a Airport, as this action impacts the Yemeni people and contradicts the company’s commitment to neutrality, humanitarian, and commercial operations as stated in the company’s released statement.

The source affirmed that the Ministry of Transport is committed to implementing the agreement with the company’s management in Aden, which involves disbursement from the company’s account in a manner that preserves the company’s finances and ensures the safe disbursement process, with 60% from Sana’a and 40% from Aden, in exchange for the continuation of operations from Sana’a Airport to Jordan and the opening of routes to Egypt and India to serve the needs of the Yemeni people and alleviate their suffering.

The source regarded the decision to suspend flights as manipulation and exploitation of the Yemeni people’s suffering and a misguided politicization of a company that should be committed to neutrality as a national carrier. It places the company in the position of a partner in this wrongdoing. He held the management in Aden and all the aggressor countries responsible for the consequences of these actions.

The Yemenia airline company has suspended flights to and from Sana’a International Airport due to pressure from US-Saudi aggression, which is seen as an attempt to disrupt the ongoing Omani-mediated peace process.

Reuters has reported that Yemenia Airways will cease its flights between Sana’a and Jordan, beginning on October 1st.

On 9 August 2016, the Saudi-led coalition imposed restrictions on Yemen’s airspace resulting in the closure of Sana’a Airport to commercial flights, trapping millions of Yemenis in a war zone and preventing the free movement of humanitarian and commercial goods from entering through this route. As a result, thousands of Yemenis with long-term health conditions such as cancer, kidney, liver and blood conditions have died while waiting for treatment unavailable in Yemen.

The closure of the airport has also led to an almost complete halt to commercial cargo such as medicine, medical supplies and equipment coming into the country. Coupled with restrictions on Hodeidah port, this has caused prices of some medicine to double, making it unaffordable for most of the population and further contributing to the decline of Yemen’s health system, already decimated by the aggression.

With the beginning of the truce last year, the aggression tried to evade its commitment to open Sana’a airport and make flights only to one destination, Jordan, and for a very limited number.

Sana’a confirmed more than once that the continued closure of Sana’a airport proves the lack of seriousness of theUS-Saudi aggression to bring peace to Yemen.