Sanaa International Airport is the primary

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

of Yemen located in

Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

, the capital of

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. It serves Sanaa City, as well as the entire population of the northern provinces of Yemen. Initially, a small passenger terminal was built in the 1970s. The runway is shared with the large Al-Dailami Air Base.

Facilities

The airport has one 3,200-meter-long

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

, an

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

with 27 parking spaces, and a passenger terminal.

Operations

In 2007, the airport handled about 1.7 million passengers, representing 80% of all air passengers in Yemen and 87% of all international passengers. During that year, there were 38 flights per day on average.

History

Due to the

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

, in March 2015 a no-fly zone was imposed over the entire country, and civilian flights ceased operation. The only flights operating from then on were flights by foreign countries to evacuate their nationals. The militaries of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

evacuated their citizens from Yemen as the war began. On 29 April 2015, the airport was the target of severe bombardment from the

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF; ) is the military aviation, aviation branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a special forces unit dedicated to comba ...

. The sole runway and the passenger terminal building was severely damaged and was deemed unusable for the foreseeable future. On 9 August 2016, the airport was closed down once again after resumption of services by

Yemenia Yemenia () is the flag carrier of Yemen, based in Sanaa. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger flights to destinations in Africa and the Middle East out of its airline hub, hubs at Aden International Airport, and to a lesser ...

due to closure of airspace by the Saudi-led coalition. On 6 November 2017, in response to a

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

missile landing in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, the Saudi authorities closed the airport along with all other routes into Yemen. On 14 November of that year, the Saudi Air Force bombed the airport, inflicting damage upon it. On 23 November 2017, the authorities allowed the airport to reopen for aid flights, along with the port of

Hodeidah Hodeidah (), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or al-Hudaydah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea and it is the centre of Al Hudaydah Governorate. As of 2023, it had an estimated population o ...

. On 25 November, four planes carrying humanitarian aid landed in Sanaa, the first such planes to land since the total

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

had been imposed. On 3 February 2020, a United Nations plane carrying seven seriously ill Yemenis took off on a mercy flight to Jordan. In December 2021, the airport was targeted by Saudi Arabian airstrikes. Civilians were reportedly evacuated before the airstrikes were launched but the airport was heavily damaged. On 16 May 2022, commercial flights from the airport resumed after six years. The first Yemenia flight carried 151 passengers to the Jordanian capital

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

. On 28 July 2024, it was announced that Yemenia would resume flights from Sanaa International Airport to Egypt, and India in the following week. However, that was cancelled. On 25 May 2025, for the first time since the start of the civil war the first plane carrying Yemeni pilgrims departed directly from Sana’a International Airport en route to the city of

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

in the Kingdom of

, marking the beginning of

Hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

pilgrimage season. Khaled Al-Shaif, Director of Sana’a International Airport, stated in a press release that approximately 2,000 pilgrims will be transported directly from the airport to the holy sites.

Israeli airstrikes

On 26 December 2024, the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

conducted airstrikes on the airport in response to Houthi attacks targeting population centers in Israel. On 6 May 2025, following a warning issued by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

to all residents near the airport, Sanaa International Airport, along with 10 other sites in the country, was destroyed along with several aircraft by an Israeli airstrike. Three aircraft belonging to

were also reported to have been destroyed on the ground. This attack came less than 24 hours after Israeli forces bombed Hodeidah International Airport following Houthi strikes on the

Ben Gurion airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew language, Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, i ...

near

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. Reacting to the strikes on Sanaa Airport, Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

stated "we attacked in the past, we will attack in the future." According to the Airport director, Khaled al-Shaief, "around $500 million in losses were caused by the Israeli aggression" on the airport. The airport received its first flight from Queen Alia International Airport 11 days after the airstrikes. On 28 May, another Israeli airstrike destroyed a Yemenia aircraft that had been chartered to take

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrims to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

before it could be boarded. The aircraft was the last

civilian aircraft Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...

that Yemenia Airways was operating from the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

* On 14 September 1994, Al-Yemda

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

flight from

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

to Sanaa,

, was hijacked by a man with a hand grenade. He reportedly demanded to be taken to

. When the hijacker went into the flight deck, he was overpowered by security personnel who had entered the plane and was arrested. * On 30 October 2011, a shelling attack by opposition tribesmen on the neighbouring air force base damaged the airport's runway, forcing incoming flights to be diverted to

. There were no reports of casualties, although an ammunition storage and two fighter jets were destroyed. * On 21 November 2012, an

Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

crashed in the abandoned Al-Hasaba Marketplace. Pilots saw that there was an engine which caught fire. The aircraft was operated by the Yemeni Air Force. * On 19 February 2013, a Yemeni Air Force fighter plane, a

Sukhoi Su-17 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32; NATO reporting name: Fitter) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter Soviet serv ...

, crashed onto a building shortly after taking off from Sanaa International Airport close to a busy road. The crash location was behind a local hospital. Eighteen people died and 16 were injured. Yemeni Air Force was concerned in the aftermath of two plane crashes. * On 23 June 2014, British citizen and pro-democracy campaigner Andargachew Tsige was controversially arrested at Sanaa airport and later extradited to Ethiopia. * On 26 March 2015, the

bombed positions in Sanaa, including the airport, in reaction to the Houthi takeover in Yemen.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Airports in Yemen

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...