Al Mukalla: Thousands of stranded Yemenis have come home after spending two months oversees stranded in many cities in the wake of Saudi-led bombing operation in late March.
Yemenia, the country’s official carrier, has begun taking stuck passengers from Egypt, India and Jordan to the capital Sana’a and Seiyun city, in the southeastern province of Hadramout.
Saudi Arabia blocked Yemen airspace in March when the kingdom led a coalition of Arab countries and launched aggressive airstrikes on Al Houthis military sites in attempt to curb rebels’ quick expansion across the country. The sudden air campaign forced Yemenia and many other international carriers to halt flights to Yemen as some of the air strikes hit Sana’a airports and other airports in Sa’ada, Hodeida and Taiz.
Ebrahim Al Jahmy, a Cairo-based official at the ministry of expatriate affair, told Gulf News that as many as 3,120 have been evacuated from Egypt, adding that the Saudis have agreed to pay for the flights that would carry stranded Yemenis and Yemenia was informed by the minister of transportation not to charge passengers.
Hani Youssuf, a journalist from the port city of Al Mukalla, told Gulf New that unlike many passengers who are waiting for Yemenia to take them home, he preferred to fly to Oman. Youssuf recounted the dramatic experience being stuck in Cairo with his sick wife.
“My initial plan was to take my ill wife to Egypt for one two moths and come back, but I stayed there for three months. We were 600 people from the province of Hadramout. Yemenia called us three times and asked us to come to the airport, but we were later informed the flights were canceled,” he said.
Youssuf said that due to the long time waiting, many sick people died.
“Money transfers from Yemen stopped after the air strikes, so we were forced to take money from relatives in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Many Yemenis are still stranded. Wael Al Sharafi, an IT engineer from Sana’a was on his honeymoon when the air strike campaign began and commercial flights were halted.
He has been now in Malaysia since March, but he told Gulf News he considers himself much luckier than other Yemenis stranded in more unfavorable places like Egypt and India.
“We are enjoying the siteseeing for now,” he said.
