More than $12.3 billion in losses in the transport sector as a result of the aggression

The Ministry of Transport revealed that the initial losses – caused by the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression and blockade in the land, sea and air transport sectors from March 2015 until June 2022 – amounted to 12 billion and 318 million and 628 thousand dollars.

The ministry explained – during a press conference organized yesterday in Sana’a – that the losses incurred by the air transport sector represented by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority and the Yemeni Airlines and Al Saeeda Airlines amounted to over $6 billion dollars.

While the losses in the maritime transport sector – represented by the Yemeni Red Sea Ports Corporation and the General Authority for Maritime Affairs – amounted to $4.8 billion dollars. The losses of the land transport sector represented by the General Authority for Regulating Land Transport Affairs and the Local Corporation for Land Transport amounted to $824.595 million dollars.

During the conference, Deputy Prime Minister for National Vision Affairs Mahmoud Al-Junaid stressed the importance of the pivotal role of the transport sector in its various fields in developing the national economy and moving the wheel of development.

He pointed to the destruction that the ministry and its affiliated sectors have been subjected to by the US-Saudi-Emirati coalition of aggression to disrupt the vital role of this sector and the air, land and sea navigation services it provides at the local and international levels.

He stressed that the international silence on the crimes of aggression and the siege against the Yemeni people is evidence of complicity and participation in those crimes.

Al-Junaid praised the efforts made to maintain the technical and professional operational readiness of the transport sectors, stressing the interest of the revolutionary leadership and the Supreme Political Council in the transport sector, as it is one of the most important economic sectors.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transport Abdel Wahab Al-Durra confirmed that the damages and losses inflicted on the transport sectors as a direct result of the aggression included all infrastructure, electronic and modern technical devices of all kinds and specializations, this includes equipment, heavy machinery and electrical systems at airports, sea and land ports.

He explained that the airports of Sanaa, Taiz, Hodeidah and Saada were subjected to systematic and deliberate destruction by the aggression, as the aggression targeted the buildings, runways for aircraft, navigational devices, radars, communication devices and others in these airports, explaining that resulted in the complete exit of the airports of Taiz, Hodeidah and Saada.

The Minister of Transport pointed to the need of allowing the entry of equipment necessary for the safety of civil aviation and meteorology, as it is one of the most important conditions for the safety and security of passengers and civil aviation.

He renewed his call to the United Nations to quickly open Sana’a International Airport and all airports and seaports of the Republic of Yemen without conditions or restrictions and to neutralize them from targeting as they are considered civic. In addition, he ordered the lifting of any kind of occupation from all airports of the Republic and to not use them as military bases and barracks.

Minister Al-Durra noted that the port of Hodeidah was destroyed in all its vital and important facilities in maritime navigation, foremost of which are bridge cranes, equipment, technical devices, berths and boats that it was relied on to receive various ships, including cargo container ships.

Minister Al-Durra indicated that the land transport sector also had its infrastructure and technical equipment destroyed, which included Al-Twal, Shahn and other vital land ports.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Transport Mohammed Al-Hashemi confirmed that the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression sought, by intensifying its raids on the various transport sectors, to paralyze air, sea and land navigation, considering transport the lifeblood of society.

In turn, the head of the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority, Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Qader, stated that air transport was the first target of the air force of the Saudi-led aggression, as Sana’a International Airport was targeted on the night of March 26, 2015 with nine direct raids, which included the halls and the main runway for landing planes.

He pointed out that the airports of Taiz, Hodeidah and Saada were directly destroyed, which led to their departure from operational readiness.

He praised the efforts of the authority’s cadres in rehabilitating Sana’a International Airport and operating it technically and professionally to provide its navigational services in accordance with international requirements and the ICAO International Aviation Organization.

Meanwhile, the head of the Land Transport Regulatory Authority, Walid Al-Waadi, confirmed that land transport is one of the sectors that have been most destroyed by the coalition of aggression, especially vital land ports, which are now transformed into military camps belonging to the aggression and its mercenaries, according to him.

A statement issued by the ministry and its affiliated bodies and institutions called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to bear their responsibilities in alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people, stopping the aggression, lifting the siege imposed on them, and enabling them to use and operate their facilities.

He indicated that the Ministry of Transport and its affiliated bodies and institutions have prepared emergency plans to restore technical readiness to a minimum point, relying on national capabilities and competencies, which have achieved technical and professional achievements in providing air, sea and land transport services.

The statement stressed the need to enable Yemen Airways to operate in its full operational capacity as it was before the aggression, as a right guaranteed by international laws, charters and conventions.

It called on the United Nations to quickly open Yemeni airspace in full to international airlines through the Republic’s airports in general and Sana’a International Airport in particular, and to prevent the aggression from continuing to practice air and sea piracy on civilian aircraft and ships.

The Ministry of Transport renewed the demand to open the main roads and borders to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people who suffer difficulties and losses as a result of their closure.

It called for stopping all kinds of attacks, interruptions and targeting of land transport buses by the aggression coalition and its mercenaries.

The ministry and its affiliated bodies and institutions affirmed the continuation of developing and modernizing all areas of transportation in implementation of the directives of the revolutionary leadership and the Supreme Political Council to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.

The conference included a presentation on the damages and losses suffered by the various transport sectors.