SANAA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The first commercial flight in six years took off on Monday from Sanaa, Yemen's capital under the control of the Houthi rebels, as an essential part of the ongoing truce between the Yemeni warring sides.
The Yemenia Airways flight carried 151 passengers, many of whom are patients who seek urgent medical treatment in Jordan.
Earlier, the Yemeni national carrier's plane arrived in Sanaa from the southern port city of Aden to pick up the passengers. Water cannons sprayed the Sanaa International Airport's runway when it landed, giving the plane a ceremonial "water salute."
The plane arrived in the Jordanian capital Amman later on Monday.
According to Jordan's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission Chief Haitham Misto, the plane later left Amman with 55 passengers on board for Sanaa.
Several other flights from and to Sanaa have also been scheduled for the next two weeks.
On Aug. 9, 2016, the Saudi-led coalition imposed restrictions on Yemen's airspace, resulting in the closure of the Sanaa airport. After that, only planes of the United Nations and other international organizations are allowed to enter the Sanaa airport which used to be the largest hub in the country for international travel.
The UN-brokered two-month truce between the government and the Houthi rebels went into effect on April 2. It includes allowing two commercial flights a week to and from the Houthi-held Sanaa airport, the entry of 18 fuel ships into the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah, and lifting the siege of the government-held Taiz city.
The warring sides have largely held the truce, but they have yet to reach a final agreement on lifting the siege of Taiz city.
The truce marks the first breakthrough in years to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government out of Sanaa.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
