Aden Gets First Commercial Flight In Four Months

August 6, 2015

A Yemenia commercial flight touched down in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Thursday for the first time since conflict closed the city's airport more than four months ago.

"At around 1 pm local time, a Yemenia Airways plane arrived, carrying 150 citizens who had fled the city by boat to Djibouti back home," Muneef al-Zuhairi, a militia commander and deputy director of the airport said.

Gulf Arab countries have backed with air strikes and weapons deliveries a northward advance by fighters from southern Yemen fighters. They are trying to push back the Iranian-allied Houthi group, which took over the capital, Sanaa, in September.

Heavy fighting had rendered Aden's airport and sea ports mostly inaccessible since the Houthis pushed into the city on March 26, triggering the Arab military intervention, an exodus of refugees and severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

However, the city was seized by fighters opposed to the Houthis last month, and the country's exiled government in Saudi Arabia says it will use it as a base to run the country.

(Reuters)