GCAA calls on UN to lift embargo on Sanaa international airport

SANAA, Dec. 26 (YPA) –  The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Wednesday renewed its call on the United Nations, the Security Council and the international community to lift the embargo on Sanaa International Airport to save the lives of thousands of patients who are in urgent need of traveling abroad for medical treatment.

The spokesman for the authority, Dr. Mazen Ghanem, in a statement to the Yemeni News Agency (SABA) stressed the importance of opening Sanaa 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.

Sanaa Airport is the main entry for most of the population of the Republic of Yemen, and the ban imposed on it resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe.

It is also 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.

E.M