Official says Yemeni pilgrims depart Sanaa on first direct flight to Saudi Arabia since 2016

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSANAA, Yemen (AP) — A commercial flight carrying more than 270 Yemeni Muslim pilgrims left the rebel-held capital of Sanaa on Saturday to Saudi Arabia, an official said, the first such flight in about seven years.The flight by Yemen’s national carrier Yemenia — also known as Yemen Airways — took off from Sanaa’s international airport at 8 p.m. local time, heading to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, Khalid al-Shayyef, head of the Yemeni airport, said.
He told The Associated Press the flight was the first of five that would transfer this year’s Muslim pilgrims from Sanaa to Saudi Arabia for hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it.
Along with Saturday’s flight, two more have been scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, while Houthi and Saudi officials were working on scheduling two additional flights, he said.
Yemen’s capital has been under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognized government. The Houthi takeover prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to try to restore the government. The coalition closed off the Sanaa airport in Aug. 2016, part of an air and s …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]