On Monday morning, May 16, the local air carrier, Yemenia flight No. 648, Took off from Sana'a airport to the Jordanian capital, Amman, with 130 Yemeni passengers on board. It actually removed the dust off Sanaa International Airport, which has been abandoned six years ago, according to the armistice agreement sponsored by the United Nations through its special envoy to Yemen, the Sweden Hans Grundberg.
The internationally recognized government had announced at the end of last week that it had agreed to schedule the first flight from Sanaa airport to Jordan after a postponement from last April, for reasons related to the problem of passports and the start of consultations to open the cut off roads and lift the siege on the city of Taiz.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, welcomed the launch of the first commercial flight from Sana'a airport since nearly six years as part of the implementation of the cease-fire agreement that was set for two months and expires at the end of this current May.
Grundberg congratulated all Yemenis on this significant and long overdue step, which he hopes will provide some relief to Yemenis who need medical treatment abroad, seek educational and job opportunities, or reunite with loved ones. He said that this is the time to come together and do more to start repairing what the war has damaged, fulfil all truce commitments to build confidence and move towards resuming a political progress to end the conflict on a sustainable manner.
Relieving some of the burdens
Yemenis are excited about the return of Sanaa Airport to service to relieve the drains on travelers and patients who have lived years of arduous transportation through rugged and alternative roads to reach the only two airports operating in Yemen since six years, Aden Airport and Sayun Airport in Hadramout Governorate (southern Yemen).
Progress towards opening the closed highway roads in Taiz is essential to realizing this promise, as the UN envoy expected the parties to fulfill their obligations, including meeting urgently to agree on opening roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen, in accordance with the terms of the armistice agreement.
Citizen Ali Muhammad, who is one of the passengers on Yemenia flight No. 648, which took off on Monday morning from Sanaa airport, considered in an interview with "Khuyut", the restarting of Sana'a Airport is an expected and joyful step after years of suffering and waiting for years, especially ill travelers who needs urgent treatment in abroad, for this historic moment that will ease part of their suffering and save them the costs of transportation to Hadramout.
For his part, citizen Yahya Salem, in an interview with "Khuyut", asserts that it is a step that is long overdue, because such public and service facilities should have stayed away from the circle of conflict in Yemen. However, the conflicting parties focused more on the side of the military battles in the public sectors and facilities that serve Citizens who have nothing to do with this war, which has greatly worsened and deteriorated their living conditions.
The envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, had announced in early April that the two parties to the war in Yemen had agreed to a two-month settlement, starting from April 2, and could be renewed later after the end of the two months with the consent of the parties, including the cessation of all military operations inside the Yemen and across the border.
Moreover, it was also agreed that fuel ships would be allowed to enter the port of Hodeidah (western Yemen), and that commercial flights to predetermined destinations to and from Sanaa airport will be resumed.
Readiness of the airport
Although Sana’a Airport is considered the first in Yemen in terms of size, equipment and capabilities compared to other airports in the country, the number of permitted commercial flights are very limited, according to the armistice agreement, with two flights a week which do not meet 10% of the needs of the population that this airport serves. However, it is an important step to fully open the airport during the coming period in the event of extending the armistice after its expiration.
In a press statement, the Norwegian Refugee Council office in Yemen, considered the restarting of the Sana'a airport and launching the first commercial plane that took off from Sanaa airport after six years out of service, is a major step towards achieving lasting peace in Yemen.
Sana'a Airport has established to be highly operative in terms of operational, technical and professional aspects, especially as it provides navigation services to United Nations aircraft and international and humanitarian organizations operating in Yemen on a daily basis provided by highly qualified Yemeni staff.
Navigational expert, Qais Abdel Rahim, confirms to "Khuyut" that Sanaa Airport serves a large population mass and is used by residents of more than 15 Yemeni governorates, so its closure deprived this huge population of their freedom of movement, which is criminalized by all international conventions and agreements.
Abdul Rahim believes that the readiness of the top international airport in Yemen is not surprising. Throughout the past years of conflict, even after halting its public services, it has been at the disposal of the United Nations, whose planes are constantly using the airport even at the height of the conflict and aerial bombardment by coalition aircraft, which the Yemeni capital was exposed to, in general and the targeting the Sana'a airport in particular.
The Sana'a authority, which has so far refused to discuss the road file and end the siege imposed on the city of Taiz, demands that the provisions of the armistice shall be adhered to and that the specified 16 air flights be allowed to operate during the remaining period of the armistice.
The next step forward
After the first flight from Sanaa airport was resumed after years of hiatus, Hans Grundberg, the UN envoy to Yemen, sees these commitments primarily as a promise to Yemeni women and men - a promise of greater security, better access to basic goods and services, and improved freedom of public movement in and out of Yemen.
Progress towards opening roads in Taiz is critical to realizing this promise, as the UN envoy expected the parties to fulfill their obligations, including meeting urgently to agree on opening roads in Taiz and other governorates in Yemen, in accordance with the terms of the armistice agreement.
The ongoing war in Yemen has complicated the process of safe movement, after the grinding conflict imposed alternative, rugged, difficult roads full of tensions, military points and toll outlets, especially the siege imposed by the Ansar Allah (Houthis) authority on the city of Taiz, which exacerbated the suffering of Yemenis at various levels, and the transport of goods and commodities between the various Yemeni governorates.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the internationally recognized government had announced positive engagement with all necessary arrangements for the release of all "prisoners" detainees, the opening of Sana'a airport, the launching of oil derivatives ships through the port of Hodeidah and the opening of crossings in the besieged city of Taiz.
This truce comes as a result of intense diplomatic moves, which began in the second half of March 2022, with the rise of emergency developments and transformations in the file of the Yemeni crisis, which has eluded a solution for seven years, amid war and grinding conflict, caused the explosion of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world according to the classification of the United Nations.
The truce comes after an initiative announced by the head of the Political Council of Ansar Allah (Houthis) on March 26, about a unilateral truce for a period of days that will continue later, was followed by a similar announcement of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as outcomes of the "Yemeni-Yemeni" consultations which was launched in the Saudi capital, Riyadh in response to a call by the Gulf Cooperation Council in mid-March.
A two-month truce went into effect on April 2 and has largely held, but the resumption of certain flights agreed upon under the agreement did not take place, as the internationally recognized Yemeni government initially insisted that all passengers from Sanaa shall hold passports issued by it.
But after pressure from the international community, it agreed last week to allow holders of passports issued from Sanaa and the areas under the influence of Ansar Allah (Houthis) to travel abroad.
The United Nations is seeking to extend the nationwide truce, the first since 2016, to pave the way for comprehensive political negotiations to end the war that has killed tens of thousands and caused a huge humanitarian crisis.
It is worth to mention that the armistice agreement included ending offensive military operations, allowing fuel imports to enter ports under the control of Ansar Allah (Houthis), and launching some flights from Sanaa airport. And the launch of the air flights shall pave the way for separate talks to open closed roads through and out of the city of Taiz.
