Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Media sources report that approximately 600 foreign tourists have been stranded on Yemen’s Socotra Island for the second consecutive week, following the suspension of flights by the UAE-based Air Arabia.
According to Mohammed Al-Ghabri, a Reuters correspondent in Yemen, tourism sources on the island confirmed the presence of 600 tourists of various nationalities. Among those stranded are 86 Italian tourists, as well as American, Russian, and Polish nationals. He noted that the suspension of flights has caused widespread confusion within the tourism sector, amid a lack of clear solutions for evacuating the stranded visitors over the past period.
In a related development, Yemenia Airways announced on Tuesday the inauguration of the first direct commercial flight from Socotra to the Saudi city of Jeddah. This move marks the first of its kind after years in which flights from the archipelago were restricted exclusively to the United Arab Emirates.
The Russian Embassy, in a statement addressed to its citizens on Socotra, confirmed that Yemenia Airways has committed to launching the commercial route to Jeddah, with the first flight scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday. There are high hopes that this route will alleviate the crisis of the stranded tourists and provide an alternative aerial gateway for the island.
