SANAA: Yemen’s national carrier has suspended international flights from the country’s capital, officials have said, citing a dispute with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels over access to funds.
Yemenia operates near-daily commercial flights to the Jordanian capital Amman — its only direct international destination from Sanaa’s Houthi-controlled airport which reopened last year following a six-year hiatus.
On Saturday, an official with the Houthi transport ministry told the rebel’s Saba news agency that “Yemenia flights have been suspended from Sanaa airport”.
In a statement, the airline blamed the rebels for the move, accusing them of restricting access to company accounts in Sanaa banks since March — a charge the Houthis have denied. Yemenia said it was barred from accessing more than $80 million in deposits, causing “severe damage to the company’s activity”.
It said its six flights per week from Sanaa to Amman would stop after the end of September “in light of the company not being allowed to withdraw from its accounts”. The airline will continue, however, to operate flights from Aden — the current seat of the internationally-recognised government.
Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2023
