6/5/2025–|Last update: 6/5/202505:35 PM (Mecca time)
Sana’a airport is the main airport in Yemen, and its primary outlet for transporting international and other aid to international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and MSF, in addition to the transfer of UN employees. It is located in the Al -Rahba area, north of the capital, Sanaa, about 13 km away.
Facility and establishment
Sanaa International Airport was established in the 1970s, as part of the Yemeni government’s efforts to establish an international air gate linking the country to the outside world.
It was designed with very limited capacity and services to suit the reality of Yemen at the time, as the air traffic was almost non -existent, and the number of aircraft was very limited, and the number of weekly flights that took off from it was very little, as the scene of the planes in the sky was rarely, but it remained the same without developing or updating for more than 30 years.
The airport did not witness any expansion or development throughout these years, but rather deteriorated in all aspects as a result of neglect and mismanagement.
Targeting
Since the outbreak of the war in the country after the Houthi group took control of the capital and state institutions in 2014, Sana’a airport was bombed several times in a way that has been closed for a long time since 2016, due to a dispute between the legitimate Yemeni government and the Houthi group.
A navigational movement was imposed at the airport in August 2016, while keeping the United Nations humanitarian flights and other organizations, including doctors without borders and the Red Cross.
In December 2018, the Swedish capital, Stockholm, hosted negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthis under the auspices of the United Nations, and discussed several files, including the reopening of Sanaa airport.
The Houthi group rejected the conditions of the Yemeni government, which is to subjugate the planes that fly from the airport to inspection at Aden Airport or Sayyun.
After the negotiations failed, the UN envoy to Yemen then Martin Griffiths intensified his consultations with the Yemeni government and the Houthis with the aim of resolving the airport closure crisis, which caused the suffering of millions of Yemenis wishing to travel.
The Sultanate of Oman was also mediated in 2021 to solve the files of the conflict in Yemen, including Sanaa International Airport.
In September 2020, the Houthi group announced the closure of Sana’a International Airport in front of the international flights, due to the depletion of the fuel designated for it, and confirmed that the closure of the airport in front of travelers exacerbated the humanitarian situation and led to the death of 80,000 patients who needed to travel for treatment.
In late December 2024, Israel targeted the port of Hodeidah and Sana’a airport in several raids, which resulted in a member of the United Nations service to transport humanitarian aid (Yunahas) run by the United Nations World Food Program.
In the wake of the targeting, Yunhas service suspended its flights to Sanaa International Airport temporarily, and warned that any disruption of the airport or the port of Hodeidah may lead to paralysis of humanitarian operations in Yemen.
The Houthis announced that the Israeli raids at Sanaa airport and facilities in Hodeidah killed 6 people and wounded 40 others.
On May 6, 2025, the Israeli army bombed the Sanaa airport area and other vital areas in the Yemeni capital.
The Israeli Channel 12 reported that the strikes affected the airplanes and the monitoring tower at the airport, as well as vital installations that include a power station and fuel tanks, and at the same time the Israeli army said that it had removed the airport completely.
The Israeli bombing came in response to the Houthi targeting the Israeli Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv a day before, and the Israeli army radio quoted a military source as saying that the American “Thaad” and “Hions” Israeli systems failed to intercede the Yemeni missile, at a time when millions of Israelis went to the shelters.