Tourists stranded on Yemen island to leave from Jan 7: Official

DUBAI – More than 400 tourists stranded on a Yemeni island
after flights were halted due to fighting on the mainland will be able to fly out starting on Jan 7, a Yemeni airport official told AFP.

Over the past few days, flights in and out of Yemen had been largely restricted following a flare-up of violence between rival armed factions loosely grouped under the government but separately backed by the United Arab Emirates
(UAE)
and Saudi Arabia
.

An official at the airport on the island of Socotra told AFP on Jan 6 that the 416 stranded tourists would be able to leave from Jan 7 via Yemenia Airways flights to Aden, then on to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The airport in Aden on the mainland has been functional since Jan 4 after disruptions that lasted for several days.

The stranded tourists had arrived from the UAE’s Abu Dhabi airport via Air Arabia, an Emirati airline.

“But the Yemeni and Saudi governments have prohibited direct flights from the UAE to Yemen, including those bound for Socotra”, after the UAE- and Saudi-backed groups clashed over territory, the official said.

The tourists include at least 60 Russians, he said, with a Western diplomat telling AFP other nationalities were present, including French, British and American citizens.

In a Facebook post on Jan 6, the Russian Embassy in Yemen shared details for a US$700 (S$895) Yemenia Airways flight from Socotra to Jeddah scheduled for Jan 7.

More flights on the same route “are planned later, but for now there is no precise information”, it added.

With its lush landscape, distinctive “dragon blood” trees, unique animals and turquoise waters, Yemen’s Socotra archipelago has been a magnet for adventurous travellers for years.

Many set off from the wealthy UAE, the main backer of the separatist Southern Transitional Council forces that control the islands.

The Saudis and Emiratis have for years supported rival factions in Yemen’s fractious Aden-based government, which has been held together by its opposition to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the north.

In December, the UAE-backed separatists seized much of the south, expelling Saudi-backed government forces and their allies in a move that sparked fighting and Saudi air strikes.

In recent days, Saudi-backed government forces have retaken much of the land that was seized. AFP