SANAA — The first commercial flight in nearly
six years took off from
Yemen's rebel-held capital Monday, a major step forward
in a peace process that has provided rare relief from conflict.
اضافة اعلان
The Yemenia plane carrying 126 passengers,
including hospital patients needing treatment abroad and their relatives, took
off from Sanaa to the Jordanian capital Amman just after 9am (06:00 GMT).
Before take-off, the plane with red-and-blue
tail livery taxied through an honor guard of two fire trucks spraying jets of
water.
Sanaa's airport has been closed to
commercial traffic since August 2016 because of airstrikes by the Saudi-led
military coalition, who are fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
"I'm so happy with the opening of
Sanaa airport," said Lutfiyah, a wheelchair-bound passenger who did not want to
give her full name. "Today is a day of celebration, and I hope that it
remains open."
'More than wonderful'
Sanaa resident Muhammad Zaid Ali was
accompanying his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Razan, who has a brain tumor.
"The flight was full of hopeless people
being treated in Yemen, people who had to wait for this opportunity for seven
years," he told AFP on arrival in Jordan.
"It feels more than wonderful. I did
not expect the plane to take off and to allow us to travel from Yemen."
Yemen, the
Arab world's poorest country, has
been wracked with war since the coalition stepped in to support the government
in 2015, a year after the Houthis seized control of the capital.
According to United Nations figures, more
than 150,000 people have died in the violence and millions have been displaced,
creating what it calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
But a truce has been in place since April 2,
coinciding with the start of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Five days after it took effect, Yemen's
Saudi-based president handed his powers to a leadership council tasked with
holding peace talks with the rebels.
Resuming flights from Sanaa, working to
reopen roads to the rebel-besieged city of Taez and allowing fuel tankers into
the Houthi-held port of Hodeida — a lifeline for Yemen — were all part of the
truce agreement.
UN special envoy
Hans Grundberg called
Monday's flight an "important and long-awaited step".
The agreement provides for two weekly return
flights to Amman and Cairo.
"I hope this provides some relief to
the Yemenis who need to seek medical treatment abroad, pursue education and
business opportunities, or reunite with loved ones," he said in a statement.
While fuel tankers have docked in Hodeida
and flights have now resumed from Sanaa, the main routes into Taez remain cut
off.
'Stepping stone' towards peace
Washington also welcomed the flight.
"The United States encourages the parties to seize this opportunity to
advance broader peace efforts for the sake of the Yemeni people,"
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
"We look forward to regular flights to and
from Sanaa as called for in the UN-led truce," Blinken added.
Erin Hutchinson, Yemen country director for
the
Norwegian Refugee Council aid agency, called the flight "a stepping
stone towards a lasting peace for Yemen".
The inaugural flight under the truce was
planned for April 24 from Sanaa to Amman, but had to be scrapped after Yemenia
said it did not receive the necessary permits.
Each side blamed the other for the hold-up,
while the UN called for a quick resolution to the impasse.
Last week Yemen's government said it would
allow citizens in rebel-held areas to travel on Houthi-issued passports,
removing a barrier to the flights.
The government has agreed "during the
armistice period to allow the Yemeni people who were held hostage to the (
Houthis)
the opportunity to travel through Sanaa airport, with passports issued by Houthi-controlled
areas," a Yemeni official told AFP.
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