The first commercial flight from Yemen’s rebel-held capital in six years was postponed indefinitely on Sunday in a bid to break an already fragile truce in the country’s grueling conflict, as rival sides shared blame for the flight delay.
The flight from Sana’a to Amman had been planned as part of the United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement struck by the internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels earlier this month.
The 60-day ceasefire, which came into effect on April 2, came amid concerted international and regional efforts to find a solution to the conflict that has devastated the Arab world’s poorest country and brought it to the brink of famine.
The Saudi-led military coalition launched a war in early 2015 in support of internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile months after the Iran-backed Houthis captured Sanaa and much of northern Yemen.
In recent years, the conflict has escalated into a regional proxy war that has claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people, including at least 14,500 civilians. It has also created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
finger pointing
As part of the ceasefire, the two sides agreed to operate two commercial flights per week to and from Sanaa to Jordan and Egypt. Sanaa is blocked by the Saudi-led coalition, which is preventing the delivery of essential supplies, including life-saving medicines.
However, more than three weeks after the armistice came into effect, both sides could not agree on the operation of the flight. You traded the blame for failure.
Authorities in Sana’a called it a “violation” of the ceasefire and said the flight was postponed after they were denied necessary permits from the Saudi-led coalition.
In Houthi-controlled Sanaa, Deputy Civil Aviation Chief Raed Talib Jabal said the coalition’s refusal to authorize the flight on Sunday was “a violation of the ceasefire” that began earlier this month.
“The aggression coalition is deliberately trying to double the suffering of the Yemeni people while trying to mislead international public opinion about the humanitarian record,” he said.
The Yemeni government blamed the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the postponement, claiming they tried to “smuggle” members of the Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah onto the flight.
Muammar al-Eryani, information minister of the internationally recognized government, said the Houthis failed to comply with the deal by providing passengers with passports issued by the rebels, who have not recognized them since March 2017.
He said the government had allowed 104 passengers to travel on the Sanaa-Amman flight, but the Houthis insisted on adding 60 more passengers “with unreliable passports” using “false names and forged documents”.
The flight “stalled because the Houthi terrorist militia failed to honor the agreement that requires approval of passports issued by the legitimate government,” al-Eryani said.
A Houthis spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
“Deep Disappointment”
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, expressed concern about the delay and urged the parties to work with his office “to find a solution that would allow flights to resume as planned.”
A renewable two-month ceasefire that came into effect in early April “is intended to benefit civilians, including by reducing violence, providing fuel and improving their freedom of movement in, out and within their country,” he said Sunday.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) also expressed “deep disappointment” about the flight cancellation.
“This would have been a first small but important step towards lasting stability in Yemen. It is also a lifesaver for tens of thousands of medical patients in urgent need of treatment abroad,” Erin Hutchinson, country director of NRC Yemen, said in a statement.
“We hope that both parties will honor their ceasefire commitments, including allowing flights from Sana’a Airport and opening roads to Taiz and other governorates.”
UN Envoy Grundberg: “I am concerned about the postponement of the first commercial flight from Sana’a Airport that was scheduled for today. I urge the parties to work constructively with me and my office to find a solution that will allow flights to resume as planned.
— @OSE_Yemen (@OSE_Yemen) April 24, 2022
The plane, operated by national airline Yemenia, was scheduled to take off from the government-controlled southern port city of Aden, land in Sanaa and take passengers in need of medical treatment to Jordan’s capital Amman.
But hours before the flight, the airline said it had yet to receive an operating license. It expressed the travelers “deep regret that they were not allowed to operate the long-awaited flight”.
Yemen added it hopes that “all problems will be overcome in the near future,” without giving a date.
Sick passengers stranded
The flight delay was a setback to a ceasefire agreement that offered a rare respite from violence across much of the country and also prompted fuel tankers to arrive at the port of Hodeidah, potentially alleviating fuel shortages in Sana’a and elsewhere.
In another potentially hopeful sign, on April 7 Yemen’s President Hadi handed over his powers to a new leadership council tasked with conducting peace talks with the Houthis.
The airport in Sana’a has been closed to commercial traffic since August 2016, when airstrikes cut the connection to the city.
Aid planes continue to land in Sana’a, although air traffic has been temporarily suspended.
The disruption to commercial flights has “prevented thousands of sick Yemeni civilians from seeking urgent medical treatment outside the country,” humanitarian groups CARE and NRC said last August.
They also cited “economic losses estimated at billions.”
Daily flights from Aden and the eastern city of Seiyun fly both domestically and to other countries in the region.