First Commercial Flight Takes Off From Sanaa, Raising Hopes for Yemen Peace

First Commercial Flight Takes Off From Sanaa, Raising Hopes for Yemen Peace
A Yemen Airways plane is greeted with water canon salute at Sanaa Airport as the first commercial flight in around six years, in Sanaa, Yemen on May 16, 2022. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

SANAA—Yemen’s national airline operated on Monday its first commercial flight from the capital Sanaa since 2016, raising hopes a U.N.-brokered truce could be a stepping stone towards a lasting peace that could improve the lives of desperate Yemenis.

Dozens of Yemenis, including patients who waited years for medical treatment, went through security checks in the airport’s terminal which has been deserted since 2015, excited and relieved at the prospect of being able to travel.