Sanaa International Airport Explained

Nativename-A:Arabic: مطار صنعاء الدولي
Location:Sanaa
Hub:Yemenia
Elevation-M:2,199
Coordinates:15.4764°N 44.2197°W
Pushpin Label:SAH/OYSN
R1-Length-F:10,669
Opened:1964
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Sanaa International Airport
Iata:SAH
Icao:OYSN
Type:Public/Military
City-Served:Sanaa
Elevation-F:7,216
Pushpin Map:Yemen
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Yemen
R1-Number:18/36
R1-Length-M:3,252
Owner:Yemeni Government
Operator:Ansarullah (Houthis)

Sanaa International Airport is the primary international airport of Yemen located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. It services 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.

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]

Impact of war

See main article: Yemeni civil war (2014–present). Due to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, a no-fly zone has been imposed over the entire country, as of 28 March 2015, so civilian flights have 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 only runway and the passenger terminal building have been severely damaged and are 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]

On 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.

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.[11]

On July 28, 2024, it was announced that Yemenia would resume flights from Sanaa International Airport to Egypt and India in the following week.[12]

Accidents and incidents

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Sana'a City Profile . 2020 . United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Yemen . 28 February 2021.
  2. News: Ghattas. Abir. Yemen's No Fly Zone: Thousands of Yemenis are Stranded Abroad. 8 April 2015.
  3. News: Ahmed. Amel. Stranded Yemeni-Americans consider alternate escape routes. 8 April 2015. Al-Jazeera. 28 March 2015.
  4. News: Elbagir . Nima . 6 April 2015 . CNN Crew flies into Yemen capital . 8 April 2015 . CNN.
  5. News: Eiselin . Stefan . April 30, 2015 . Krieg im Jemen trifft Billigairline . War in Yemen hits low-cost airline . June 27, 2017 . aerotelegraph.com . de.
  6. News: Aid trickles into Yemen after three weeks of blockade. 25 November 2017. Al-Jazeera. 25 November 2017.
  7. News: Al-Haj. Ahmed. Saudi-led coalition bombs airport runway in Yemen's capital. 25 November 2017. ABC News. 14 November 2017.
  8. News: Erickson . Amanda . 22 November 2017 . Saudi Arabia just reopened two key ports in Yemen. That won't prevent a famine. . 25 November 2017 . . 0190-8286.
  9. News: Walsh. Declan. Mercy Flight Leaves Yemen Capital, Cracking a 3-Year Blockade. 4 February 2020. New York Times. 3 February 2020.
  10. Web site: Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen's Sanaa airport. 2021-12-22. www.msn.com.
  11. Web site: First commercial flight in six years leaves Yemen's Sanaa amid fragile truce . France 24 . 16 May 2022 .
  12. Web site: 28 July 2024 . Yemenia Airways to resume flights to Cairo and India from Sanaa . Reuters.
  13. Web site: dead. UPDATE 2 — Mortar shells hit Yemeni Air Force Base, destroying two fighter jets. BNO News. 31 October 2011. https://archive.today/20130209090310/http://wireupdate.com/news/update-2-mortar-shells-hit-yemeni-air-force-base-destroying-two-fighter-jets.ehtml. 9 February 2013.
  14. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20160722191112/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/04/uk-accused-extradition-ethiopia-andargachew-tsige. UK stands accused over extradition of Ethiopian opposition leader. July 22, 2016. July 4, 2015. Martin. Plaut. The Guardian.
  15. News: Mazzetti . Mark . Kirkpatrick . David . 26 March 2015 . Saudi Arabia Begins Air Assault in Yemen . 26 March 2015 . The New York Times.

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