Yemenia Airways resumes flights between Socotra and Saudi Arabia

Yemenia Airways on Wednesday resumed direct flights between Saudi Arabia and the island of Socotra for the first time in years, as Riyadh tries to roll back Emirati influence in the country.

In a statement on Tuesday, the national carrier said it would operate the first direct flight to Jeddah to evacuate foreign tourists from the island.

Hundreds of tourists have been stranded on Socotra for more than a week after flights were suspended amid clashes on the mainland between government forces supported by Saudi Arabia and UAE-backed separatists.

Mohsen Haida, deputy director for commercial affairs at Yemenia Airways, said the airline plans to operate weekly flights between Socotra and the Saudi city, according to German news agency dpa.

Since establishing a military presence in 2018, the UAE has controlled access to the strategic island and restricted flights to Abu Dhabi and the Yemeni mainland.

Though it no longer formally occupies Socotra, the UAE has continued to exercise indirect influence via the separatist Southern Transitional Council, which seized control of the island from Yemen's government in 2020.

The resumption of flights to Saudi Arabia is the latest blow to Abu Dhabi, which has been forced onto the defensive by Riyadh's military intervention against the STC.

Saudi Arabia has carried out dozens of airstrikes against STC forces after the separatist group seized swathes of eastern Yemen – including the strategic Hadramawt province - in a surprise offensive last month.

The UAE withdrew its forces from the country on 30 December under pressure from the Saudi-backed government, ending its eight-year presence on Socotra.

The STC remains in control of the island, though the airport is no longer in Emirati hands, two airport sources told Reuters.

Flights to and from the island have been grounded since 30 December after the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council declared a three-month state of emergency and closed all ports and border crossings.

The Socotra archipelago, 350 kilometres south of the mainland, is strategically located in the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden.