Impact of Yemeni civil war
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 Sana'a, 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 July 28, 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.
