Al-Shayef: Saudi-led aggression continues to strike Sana’a Airport, endangering UN mission

YemenExtra

“The new wave of airstrikes by the so-called Saudi-led coalition on Sana’a International Airport serves to keep the facility out of service and entertain the absurd notion that it cannot reopen for commercial flights,” said the managing director of the airport.

“The allegations made by the coalition against the Sana’a airport are not something new; and are an attempt to mislead world public opinion and provide a justification for repeated attacks on it,” Khaled al-Shayef said in a statement released on Sunday.

He noted that the United Nations is the only user of the Sana’a airport, and added that the strikes have disappointed ill Yemeni civilians requiring treatment abroad because of the serious nature of their medical condition.

Shayef stated he hopes for a clear position by the UN in regard to the reopening of the airport to, at the very least, humanitarian flights, stressing that the airport is ready to receive various commercial and cargo flights given the fact that Yemeni aviation authorities have not received any complaints when receiving UN aircraft.

He highlighted that the economic cost as a result of the Saudi-led air blockade and closure of the Sana’a airport stands at a very high level.

On Friday, the head of the national negotiating delegation, Mohammad Abdulsalam, affirmed that the Saudi-led coalition’s continued airstrikes on Sana’a International Airport is evidence of their failure and confusion.

Abdulsalam said that “Sana’a Airport is a civilian facility that is being suspended for service due to the siege and the ongoing airstrikes by coalition warplanes.”