Yemenis stranded in Jordan anxious to return home

AMMAN — Preparations to transport some 2,100 Yemenis stuck in Jordan back to their country are under way and are expected to finish within less than 10 days if it was granted political approval, a source at Yemenia airways said Monday.

A flight which was scheduled to transport 146 Yemenis to Yemen through Djibouti on Monday morning was cancelled because the air carrier did not obtain an official permit from the Saudi-led coalition, the airline's area manager, Hatem Shaabi, told The Jordan Times.

"After their passports were stamped, the passengers were asked to return back to Amman," he said in an interview, adding that Yemenia had initially received official approval to transfer them through Saudi Arabia's Bisha Domestic Airport. Later Monday, the airline was told that the planes can land in Sanaa airport and in the southern region of Hadramout.   

In order to organise the process, all Yemeni citizens stranded in Jordan and those who came to Jordan from other countries — so they are not required to have a visa — were required to register their names and contact information to coordinate their return, he said.

He added that transportation arrangements in coordination with the Yemeni embassy in Amman are in place to serve all citizens across Yemen, including those who do not hold Yemeni passports.

He noted that the Royal Court and security authorities have been working closely with the airline to facilitate the transfer of some 1,700 Yemenis who were in Amman before March 26, in addition to some 400 citizens who came to Jordan from other countries.

“Up to 450 Yemenis from families with over six members and very poor medical and economic conditions were transported to Yemen through Djibouti,” he said, adding that priority is given to patients and women with children.

The Saudi-led coalition has stopped Yemenia Airways flights from working for safety purposes, a matter that led the airline to move its six airplanes to Djibouti, Jakarta and Eritrea’s capital Asmara. 

“The four airplanes kept at Djibouti were released on Sunday and currently being prepared to be sent to Queen Alia International Airport, Cairo and India’s Mumbai to carry Yemenis back,” he told The Jordan Times. 

He highlighted the efforts of international organisations, including the International Organisation of Migration and the International Labour Organisation, to solve the issue of stranded Yemenis, citing an “increasing” number of Yemenis coming to Jordan to be transferred to Yemen.

He said an agreement to arrange two flights a day, carrying up to 600 passengers, is in its last stages.

He cited that some 2,500 Yemeni students and businessmen reside in Jordan. They came to the Kingdom before the recent turmoil and are not willing to return. 

But time hangs heavy on the hands of Yemenis waiting for confirmation of a flight to carry them home.

“I reserved with the airline a while ago, but I am not considered a priority,” a married Yemeni woman with three children told The Jordan Times as she was waiting for developments at the airline’s offices.

“I am waiting for the minute I receive a call or a text message from the airline to confirm that my family and I will be among the passengers on a flight that takes us back to Yemen,” said the woman, who preferred to remain unnamed.