Civil Aviation Authority: Talk of Reopening Airports is Misleading to Cover Up the Blockade; Sana’a Airport is 100% Ready
The General Authority of Civil Aviation and Meteorology in Sana’a refuted reports circulated by media outlets affiliated with the Saudi-led coalition regarding the resumption of operations at all Yemeni airports. The Authority described these statements as “deliberate misleading of public opinion” and an attempt to cover up the continued air restrictions.
The Authority’s official spokesperson, Sultan Faraj, stated, “There is no truth to what is being promoted about the airports resuming operations with Saudi support.” He emphasized that Sana’a International Airport remains subject to arbitrary restrictions imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, hindering the normal movement of the Yemeni people.
He pointed out that promoting what he called “illusory achievements” contradicts reality. The country’s primary strategic airport, serving more than 70% of the population, remains under a blockade that exacerbates the suffering of thousands of patients, students, and expatriates. The spokesperson for the authority reiterated that Sana’a International Airport is 100% technically ready to receive all civilian flights, explaining that the only obstacle to its full operation is the insistence on using the humanitarian situation and the suffering of citizens as a political bargaining chip.
He emphasized that opening airports is not a “gift or favor,” but rather an inherent human right guaranteed by international agreements, foremost among them the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which criminalizes the use of airports and civilians as tools in conflicts.
Faraj criticized attempts to highlight the renovation of airports far from population centers while ignoring the capital’s airport, considering this a “transparent strategy” to force millions to endure the hardship of overland travel exceeding a thousand kilometers via rough and unsafe roads.
He said, “Those who claim to be rebuilding today are the same ones who targeted civilian airports with missiles and imposed suffocating restrictions on them for ten years,” stressing that any talk of supporting the aviation sector remains lacking in credibility unless it includes the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on Sana’a International Airport and the opening of multiple travel destinations.
