Air traffic at Yemen's Aden international airport was halted on Thursday as tensions persisted between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two Gulf powers whose rivalry is reshaping war-torn Yemen.
Passengers wait for their flights at Aden Airport in Aden, Yemen January 1, 2026. ReutersFawaz Salman
Air traffic at Yemen's Aden international airport was halted on Thursday as tensions persisted between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two Gulf powers whose rivalry is reshaping war-torn Yemen.
The Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni government ordered new restrictions on flights to and from the UAE, aiming to curb escalating tensions in Yemen, a Saudi source told Reuters.
But the move triggered a defiant response: Yemen’s transport minister, aligned with Yemen's southern separatists, ordered a full shutdown of air traffic rather than comply.
The Southern Transitional Council, the UAE-backed Yemeni separatist force that seized most of southern Yemen last month, blamed the closure on “sudden new regulations” Saudi Arabia sought to impose.
The UAE Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the airport closure.
The tussle is the latest in a deepening crisis in Yemen that has exposed a deep rift between the two Gulf oil powers.
Saudi Arabia this week accused the UAE of pressuring Yemen's STC to push towards the kingdom's borders and declared its national security a "red line," prompting the UAE to say it was pulling its remaining forces out of Yemen.
That followed an airstrike by Saudi-led coalition forces on the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla that the coalition said was a dock used to provide foreign military support to the separatists.
Reporting by Maha El Dahan
The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a compound to house thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of south Gaza under Israeli military control, according to a map seen by Reuters and people briefed on the plans.
The World Governments Summit 2026 wraps up today, 5 February, in Dubai, closing another major edition of one of the world’s most influential platforms on governance and the future of public policy.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz began a tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday aiming to forge energy and arms partnerships as Europe's biggest and richest economy sought to reduce dependence on the U.S. and China.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.