News - Yemen: A number of officials in Sana'a reaffirmed that the continuation of the siege imposed on Sana'a Airport negatively affected patients and exacerbated the problem of the stranded.

"Large numbers of Yemeni patients are stranded due to limited flights to Sana'a Airport," Transport Minister Abdulwahhab Al-Durra said.

Al-Durra pointed out that the role of the UN in the Sana'a Airport issue and opening travel destinations for patients to Cairo and India was negative and obstructive.

Meawhile, the head of the Supreme Medical Committee, Dr. Mutahar Al-Darwish, confirmed that the aggression’s tampering with the number of flights to the only destination exacerbated the problem of patients and travelers stranded.

He pointed out that the US-Saudi aggression deliberately keeps the patients suffering through limited flights and travel requirements through Sana'a Airport and preventing the entry of foreign crews to provide medical assistance.

For his part, the Undersecretary of Civil Aviation, Raed Jabal, explained that the US-Saudi aggression has not canceled the ban imposed on Sana'a Airport since 2015.

President Mahdi Al-Mashat stressed, during his meeting with the Omani mediation delegation,the US-Saudi aggression can not evade the just humanitarian entitlements of the Yemeni People forever. He warned that the continuation of prevarication will bring the countries involved in aggression undesired results.

For his part, the director of Sana'a International Airport, Khaled Al-Shayef, confirmed Sunday that the suffering of travelers is great, especially among patients, due to the reduction of flights from six to three flights per week due to the US-imposed siege.

He explained that medicines and medical supplies are still prohibited from entering through Sana'a airport, expressing his astonishment at the UN’s silence regarding preventing the entry of medicines through Sana'a Airport, despite the urgent need for them.

The director of Sana'a International Airport emphasized that allowing five destinations and operating daily flights is the minimum need to alleviate the suffering of travelers, stressing that Sana'a Airport is technically ready to receive flights exceeding 10 flights per day.

The US-Saudi aggression imposes a suffocating blockade on Yemen and closes ports and airports to increase the suffering of the Yemeni People and create deteriorating living and economic conditions. It is trying to barter the humanitarian aspect to obtain political and military gains at the expense of the Yemeni People.

The blockade has caused tremendous suffering for millions of Yemenis who are largely dependent on imports of food, fuel and medicines. It is one of the main reasons for the large-scale humanitarian crisis in the country that has pushed millions of Yemenis toward starvation and death due to lack of medical supplies, prompting the UN to call it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

On 9 August 2016, the Saudi-led coalition imposed restrictions on Yemen’s airspace resulting in the closure of Sana’a Airport to commercial flights, trapping millions of Yemenis in a war zone and preventing the free movement of humanitarian and commercial goods from entering through this route. As a result, thousands of Yemenis with long-term health conditions such as cancer, kidney, liver and blood conditions have died while waiting for treatment unavailable in Yemen.

The closure of the airport has also led to an almost complete halt to commercial cargo such as medicine, medical supplies and equipment coming into the country. Coupled with restrictions on Hodeidah port, this has caused prices of some medicine to double, making it unaffordable for most of the population and further contributing to the decline of Yemen’s health system, already decimated by the aggression.

With the beginning of the truce last year, the aggression tried to evade its commitment to open Sana'a airport and make flights only to one destination, Jordan, and for a very limited number.

Sana'a confirmed more than once that the continued closure of Sana'a airport proves the lack of seriousness of theUS-Saudi aggression to bring peace to Yemen.