Forty-four flights will transport a total of 8,200 pilgrims from Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to three sources from Yemen’s government and the Yemeni Houthi group, as reported by Reuters. These flights will start operating from Tuesday (May 28).
Since a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in April 2022, flights from Sanaa airport have been restricted to a near-daily service to Jordan.
Although these commercial flights were suspended last September, they resumed in October after a dispute over control of the carrier’s funds between Yemen’s warring parties.
Before the ceasefire in April 2022, Sanaa airport had been closed for nearly a decade due to the ongoing war between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi group, which now controls most of the country.
Mumbai Airport gears up for peak Haj season
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) is poised to play a vital role in this year’s Haj pilgrimage, expecting to facilitate the departure of 33,000 pilgrims from Mumbai to Saudi Arabia. An official statement from CSMIA indicates that the airport will handle over 65,000 passengers, including arrivals and departures, between May 2024 and July 2024.
“2024 is anticipated to mark a significant 157 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of Haj pilgrims travelling through CSMIA when compared to 2023 when 12,815 pilgrims departed from the airport. The annual Haj flights from CSMIA operate for two months throughout the year. For 2024, the departure flights commenced on May 25th and will continue till June 12th. The arrival of returning pilgrims is tentatively scheduled to begin in July 2024,” the statement said.