Saudi-led Coalition offers to reopen Sanaa airport

A view of Sanaa airport.

RIYADH: The coalition to restore Yemen’s legitimate government will reopen Sanaa airport to commercial flights if the UN agrees to manage airport security, it said on Thursday.
The airport was closed a year ago as a precaution “due to the Houthi armed militia’s attempts to smuggle arms into the country,” coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Malki said.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) this week criticized the effects of the closure, and Al-Malki said the coalition had noted OCHA’s comments.
He said it would ask the UN to manage airport security and lay to rest the fears of the legitimate Yemeni government.
“Should airport management and security be conducted properly, ensuring the safety of all inbound flights and stopping arms smuggling, Joint Forces Command is prepared to restore normal flight activity,” Al-Malki said.
The spokesman said the coalition was committed to ensuring “the safe arrival of all commercial, cargo and relief flights to all Yemeni airports in Sanaa, Aden, Al-Hodeidah, Seiyun, Mukalla and Socotra.”