The General Authority of Civil Aviation renewed the appeal of the United Nations, the Security Council and the international community to lift the embargo on Sana’a International Airport to save the lives of thousands of patients who are in urgent need of traveling abroad for medical treatment.
The spokesperson for the authority, Dr. Mazen Ghanem, affirmed in a statement to the Yemeni News Agency (SABA) the importance of opening Sana’a airport to civil flights and lifting restrictions imposed on the movement of citizens guaranteed by international laws.
He pointed out that the statistics of the Ministry of Health indicate the death of 20 to 25 cases of illness per day, at the rate of one death per hour, due to the running out of medicines that were transported over the air and the inability to travel for treatment abroad.
Dr. Ghanem indicated that the airport closure is inconsistent with international laws and agreements, most notably the Chicago Agreement.
It is noteworthy that Sana’a International Airport has been closed by the aggression coalition since August 9, 2016, and the closure of the airport has resulted in the death of more than 43 thousand patients due to the inability to travel for treatment and the entry of medicines that were transported by air.
And Sanaa Airport is the main artery for most of the population of the Republic of Yemen, and the ban imposed on it resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe, being the main gateway for shipping medicines and medical supplies, especially for chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, heart, blood vessels and genetic blood diseases, among others
