Yemeni Government Considers Suspending UN Flights to Sana’a Over Suspected Non-Humanitarian Use

    A Yemeni government source told Sheba Intelligence that the government is considering suspending United Nations flights to Sana’a International Airport amid growing concerns that the Houthis are exploiting permits granted to UN aircraft for activities beyond humanitarian operations.

According to the source, the government suspects that some flights may have transported dual-use materials with potential military applications. It is also concerned that foreign experts could be flown into Houthi-controlled territory using false identities or forged documents.

The concerns intensified after five aircraft arrived at Sana’a airport on Wednesday—the highest number recorded in a single day in the publicly available monitoring of Dr Abdulqader Al-Kharraz since 29 September 2025, nearly 11 months ago.

Al-Kharraz, who monitors humanitarian organisations and their activities, said the five aircraft arrived in succession during the same day and included large cargo planes.

Technical sources told Sheba Intelligence that three of the aircraft entered Yemeni airspace without transmitting identification data. The other two arrived from Djibouti and were identified by flight-tracking data as aircraft chartered for the United Nations.

The government source said the arrival of large cargo aircraft without publicly available identification data strengthened calls for tighter inspections and oversight of UN flights, including clear disclosure of passenger manifests, cargo contents and flight routes.

Sheba Intelligence could not independently verify the nature of the cargo or the identities of those travelling aboard the five flights.