SANAA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The first commercial flights between Yemen's capital Sanaa and Egyptian capital Cairo in years are scheduled to take off on Wednesday, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Monday.
"The office of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg has confirmed in a letter to the (Houthi-controlled) ministry of transportation in Sanaa that the first passenger flight in years from Sanaa to Cairo, as well as a return flight, is scheduled for June 1," the television said.
On May 16, the war-torn country's first commercial flight in six years took off from Sanaa, the Houthi-held Yemeni capital to Amman, Jordan's capital, marking significant progress in the country's ongoing truce.
The Sanaa airport remained closed since August 2016 when the Yemeni government backed by the Saudi-led coalition imposed restrictions on Yemen's airspace.
After that, only planes of a few international organizations were allowed to enter the Sanaa airport, which used to be the largest hub in the country for international travel.
Under the UN's auspices, Yemen's warring parties entered a two-month ceasefire on April 2, which includes allowing commercial flights to and from Sanaa and the entry of fuel ships into the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah, and lifting the siege of the government-held Taiz city.
The warring parties have largely held the truce, but they have yet to reach a final agreement on lifting the siege of Taiz city. ■
