Sanaa International Airport

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Sanaa International Airport

مطار صنعاء الدولي
Sanaa International Airport.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic/Military
Owner Yemeni Government
Serves Sanaa
Location Sanaa
Opened1964
Hub for Yemenia
Elevation  AMSL 7,216 ft / 2,199 m
Coordinates 15°28′35″N044°13′11″E / 15.47639°N 44.21972°E / 15.47639; 44.21972
Map
Yemen adm location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
SAH
Location within Yemen
Sanaa International Airport
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
18/3610,6693,252 Asphalt

Sanaa International Airport( IATA : SAH, ICAO : OYSN) is the primary international airport of Yemen located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. It serves Sanaa City, as well as the entire population of the northern provinces of Yemen. Initially, a small passenger terminal was built in the 1970s. The runway is shared with the large Al-Dailami Air Base.

Contents

Facilities

The airport has one 3,200-meter-long runway, an apron with 27 parking spaces, and a passenger terminal. [1]

Operations

In 2007, the airport handled about 1.7 million passengers, representing 80% of all air passengers in Yemen and 87% of all international passengers. [1] During that year, there were 38 flights per day on average. [1]

History

Due to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, in March 2015 a no-fly zone was imposed over the entire country, and civilian flights ceased operation. [2] [3] The only flights operating from then on were flights by foreign countries to evacuate their nationals. [4] The militaries of India and Pakistan evacuated their citizens from Yemen as the war began.

On 29 April 2015, the airport was the target of severe bombardment from the Royal Saudi Air Force. The sole runway and the passenger terminal building was severely damaged and was deemed unusable for the foreseeable future. [5] On 9 August 2016, the airport was closed down once again after resumption of services by Yemenia due to closure of airspace by the Saudi-led coalition.

On 6 November 2017, in response to a Houthi missile landing in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi authorities closed the airport along with all other routes into Yemen. [6] On 14 November of that year, the Saudi Air Force bombed the airport, inflicting damage upon it. [7] On 23 November 2017, the authorities allowed the airport to reopen for aid flights, along with the port of Hodeidah. [8] On 25 November, four planes carrying humanitarian aid landed in Sanaa, the first such planes to land since the total blockade had been imposed. [6]

On 3 February 2020, a United Nations plane carrying seven seriously ill Yemenis took off on a mercy flight to Jordan. [9] In December 2021, the airport was targeted by Saudi Arabian airstrikes. [10] Civilians were reportedly evacuated before the airstrikes were launched but the airport was heavily damaged. [11]

On 16 May 2022, commercial flights from the airport resumed after six years. The first Yemenia flight carried 151 passengers to the Jordanian capital Amman. [12] On 28 July 2024, it was announced that Yemenia would resume flights from Sanaa International Airport to Egypt, [a] and India in the following week. [13] However, that was cancelled.

On 25 May 2025, for the first time since the start of the civil war the first plane carrying Yemeni pilgrims departed directly from Sana’a International Airport en route to the city of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, marking the beginning of Hajji pilgrimage season. Khaled Al-Shaif, Director of Sana’a International Airport, stated in a press release that approximately 2,000 pilgrims will be transported directly from the airport to the holy sites. [14]

Israeli airstrikes

CCTV footage of the Israeli airstrike on the Sanaa Airport tower

On 26 December 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes on the airport in response to Houthi attacks targeting population centers in Israel. [15]

On 6 May 2025, following a warning issued by the Israel Defense Forces [16] to all residents near the airport, [17] [18] Sanaa International Airport, along with 10 other sites in the country, [19] was destroyed along with several aircraft by an Israeli airstrike. [20] [21] [22] Three aircraft belonging to Yemenia were also reported to have been destroyed on the ground. [23]

This attack came less than 24 hours after Israeli forces bombed Hodeidah International Airport [24] following Houthi strikes on the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. [25] Reacting to the strikes on Sanaa Airport, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated "we attacked in the past, we will attack in the future." [26] According to the Airport director, Khaled al-Shaief, "around $500 million in losses were caused by the Israeli aggression" on the airport. [27] The airport received its first flight from Queen Alia International Airport 11 days after the airstrikes. [28] On 28 May, another Israeli airstrike destroyed a Yemenia aircraft that had been chartered to take Hajj pilgrims to Mecca before it could be boarded. [29] The aircraft was the last civilian aircraft that Yemenia Airways was operating from the airport. [30]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Yemenia Amman–Queen Alia (suspended) [31]

Accidents and incidents

See also

Notes

  1. Flights between Sanaa and Cairo had been halted since late 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sana'a City Profile (PDF). United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Yemen. 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  2. Ghattas, Abir. "Yemen's No Fly Zone: Thousands of Yemenis are Stranded Abroad" . Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  3. Ahmed, Amel (28 March 2015). "Stranded Yemeni-Americans consider alternate escape routes". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  4. Elbagir, Nima (6 April 2015). "CNN Crew flies into Yemen capital". CNN. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  5. Eiselin, Stefan (April 30, 2015). "Krieg im Jemen trifft Billigairline" [War in Yemen hits low-cost airline]. aerotelegraph.com (in German). Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Aid trickles into Yemen after three weeks of blockade". Al-Jazeera. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. Al-Haj, Ahmed (14 November 2017). "Saudi-led coalition bombs airport runway in Yemen's capital". ABC News. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  8. Erickson, Amanda (22 November 2017). "Saudi Arabia just reopened two key ports in Yemen. That won't prevent a famine". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  9. Walsh, Declan (3 February 2020). "Mercy Flight Leaves Yemen Capital, Cracking a 3-Year Blockade". New York Times . Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  10. "Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen's Sanaa airport". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  11. Sanaa international airport DESTROYED , retrieved 2021-12-22
  12. "First commercial flight in six years leaves Yemen's Sanaa amid fragile truce". France 24. 16 May 2022.
  13. "Yemenia Airways to resume flights to Cairo and India from Sanaa". Reuters. 28 July 2024.
  14. https://www.yemenmonitor.com/en/Details/ArtMID/908/ArticleID/141521
  15. "Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen, killing three". Reuters. 26 December 2024.
  16. "Israel-Houthi Conflict Escalates as IDF Warplanes Bomb Yemen's Sana'a Airport Following Warning". Oneindia . 6 May 2025.
  17. "Israel military says struck Yemen's Sanaa airport, power stations". Al Arabiya . 6 May 2025.
  18. Ghobari, Mohammed (6 May 2025). "Israel says it struck Yemen's main airport in Sanaa". Reuters .
  19. "'Israel' bombs 10 sites across Yemen, including Sanaa airport". Roya TV . 6 May 2025 via MENA.
  20. "Sanaa airport official says facility 'completely destroyed' by Israeli strikes". The Times of Israel. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  21. "2025 aircraft incidents in Yemen Wikibase". Aviation Safety Network. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  22. Boxerman, Aaron; Nereim, Vivian (6 May 2025). "Israeli Jets Bombard Airport in Yemen's Capital". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  23. "Israel attacks main airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa". BBC. 6 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  24. Everett, Mariamne; Kestler-D'Amours, Jillian; Stepansky, Joseph (6 May 2025). "LIVE: Israel strikes Yemen's Sanaa in second round of attacks in 24 hours". Al Jazeera .
  25. MEE Staff (6 May 2025). "Israeli military bombs Yemen's Sanaa airport". Middle East Eye .
  26. "Israel attacks main airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa". BBC . 6 May 2025.
  27. "Yemen's Houthis say attacks on Israel not in ceasefire deal in 'any way'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  28. "First flight lands in Sanaa Airport, 11 days after Israeli bombing". The Times of Israel .
  29. "Israeli strikes destroy last plane at Yemen rebels' airport". France 24 . 28 May 2025.
  30. "Israel attacks Yemen's Sanaa airport; Houthis say won't deter Gaza support". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  31. "Yemenia Flight Status & Schedule •".
  32. Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network
  33. "UPDATE 2 — Mortar shells hit Yemeni Air Force Base, destroying two fighter jets". BNO News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  34. Plaut, Martin (July 4, 2015). "UK stands accused over extradition of Ethiopian opposition leader". The Guardian . Archived from the original on July 22, 2016.
  35. Mazzetti, Mark; Kirkpatrick, David (26 March 2015). "Saudi Arabia Begins Air Assault in Yemen". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2015.