"Sanaa Airport" between government initiatives and Houthi intransigence

Yemen's national carrier becomes a tool in the conflict serving the Iranian agenda

Suffering of thousands of travelers worsens

Using the airport as a political pressure card

Government readiness to resume flights

The Sanaa Airport file is no longer just an issue related to operating civilian flights or facilitating travel for Yemenis, but has become one of the files most linked to the political and military conflict the country is witnessing, after the airport transformed from a sovereign facility dedicated to serving citizens into a pressure card used by the Houthi militias in managing the conflict, according to Yemen's legitimate government, which accuses the Houthi militia of obstructing all initiatives aimed at resuming civilian flights via the national carrier and dragging the aviation sector into calculations that go beyond the humanitarian dimension to serve regional agendas.

Over the past years, the Sanaa Airport file has been present in various rounds of political consultations and international efforts, as one of the humanitarian files affecting millions of Yemenis, foremost among them patients, students, and expatriates. However, the Yemeni government believes that the efforts made to keep the airport open for civilian flights have collided with repeated refusal from the Houthi side, which has taken a series of unilateral measures that disrupted the work of Yemen Airways and stopped the normal operation of its flights.

The Yemeni government asserts that the initiatives it presented in the past period were not aimed at achieving political gains, but rather aimed at alleviating the suffering of citizens and ensuring the continuity of travel to and from areas under Houthi control, by operating flights through Yemen Airways as the official national carrier of the state, in line with civil aviation regulations and preserving state institutions away from military polarization.

Government initiatives met with refusal

The legitimate government has presented more than one initiative to ensure the continuity of civilian flights via Sanaa Airport, most notably operating regular flights between Sanaa and the Jordanian capital Amman, with readiness to expand flights to other agreed-upon destinations, in a way that serves the interests of citizens and alleviates the humanitarian burdens resulting from years of war.

The government states that it has been committed from the outset to maintaining the continuity of Yemen Airways' operations and not depriving citizens of its services, recognizing the vital role the company plays as one of the most important national institutions representing Yemen in the air transport sector.

However, these initiatives presented by the legitimate government have faced repeated rejection by the Houthi militias, who insisted on taking unilateral measures that disrupted air traffic through Sanaa Airport and hindered the operation of Yemen Airways flights, leading to increased suffering for thousands of travelers, especially patients in need of treatment abroad, students, businesspeople, and families relying on travel for humanitarian reasons.

The government believes that the disruption of flights was not due to technical or operational obstacles, but rather as a result of decisions taken by the Houthi militias, who preferred to use the airport as a political pressure card rather than keeping it as a civilian facility serving all Yemenis.

The national carrier facing attempts at exclusion

At the heart of this file, Yemen Airways emerges as the party most affected by the crisis, as the government asserts that the Houthi militias sought to disrupt the company's role and weaken its presence inside Sanaa Airport, as part of efforts to replace the national carrier with Iran's Mahan Air in operating flights between Sanaa and Tehran.

The government considers this step to go beyond the commercial or operational dimension, as it represents a political shift reflecting an attempt to transfer management of one of the most important sovereign ports to a foreign company whose name is associated with security files and international sanctions, raising concerns about using the civil aviation sector to serve goals unrelated to the needs of Yemeni citizens.

The government accuses the Houthis of seeking to strangle and weaken the national carrier, at a time when preserving Yemen Airways should be a national priority, as it is the institution that has represented Yemen in civil aviation for decades and provides its services to all citizens without discrimination.

Resumption of flights

Amid the Houthi militias' intransigence, the government confirms that it remains committed to resuming commercial flights via Sanaa Airport, and that Yemen Airways is fully ready to resume its flights to the Jordanian capital Amman and any other agreed-upon destinations as soon as guarantees are provided to protect the aircraft and their crews and prevent any interference in the company's affairs or navigation operations.

The legitimate government stresses that providing a safe and stable environment for civil aviation is a fundamental condition for the continuity of flights, especially given the interventions and measures the company has faced in the recent period that directly affected its operational capacity and caused it significant losses.

From this standpoint, the government believes that reopening Sanaa Airport must take place within internationally recognized legal frameworks and through the national carrier, away from any attempts to politicize the airport or use it to serve regional or military projects, ensuring the safety of air navigation and the rights of travelers, and restoring the airport's natural role as a civilian gateway serving all Yemenis.

Losses of the national carrier

The repercussions of the crisis are not limited to disrupting civilian flights but extend to what the Yemeni government describes as a direct targeting of the national carrier and its operational assets, after Yemen Airways was subjected to a series of measures that weakened its ability to continue its role and directly affected air transport to and from Sanaa Airport.

The Yemeni government asserts that the Iran-backed Houthi militias hijacked four aircraft belonging to Yemen Airways during 2024 and prevented them from taking off from Sanaa Airport, a step it considered a violation of the company's rights and an assault on a national institution that should remain beyond the political and military conflict.

The government confirms that it dealt with the crisis from the standpoint of maintaining the company's continuity and ensuring its services do not stop, as it agreed to allocate those aircraft to operate flights between Sanaa and the Jordanian capital Amman, to ensure continued service to citizens and avoid exposing the company to greater losses, demonstrating its keenness to continue civilian flights despite the existing complexities.

However, these arrangements did not prevent the continuation of measures that disrupted the company's work, leaving air traffic hostage to the unilateral decisions taken by the Houthi militias, which affected thousands of travelers who found themselves with limited options for travel, treatment, and study.

War losses and repercussions of regional agendas

The government believes that what Yemen Airways has suffered is not isolated from the overall military and political developments the country has witnessed, stressing that dragging Yemen into regional conflicts to serve external agendas has imposed heavy costs on state institutions, foremost among them the civil aviation sector.