The Deputy Chairman of CAMA- Raed Jabal revealed that the direct and indirect damages and losses of CAMA and its different sectors since the beginning of the American- Saudi aggression reached an amount of $5,277,000,000. He pointed out to Yemen News Agency (Sheba) that the direct losses reached an amount of $1,700,000,000 US dollars as a result of targeting the infrastructures such as the facilities, buildings, navigational equipment, telecom systems and high technology radars of the airports and other sectors of CAMA.      

He also clarified that the estimated damages and losses that were encountered on Yemen Air Ways as a result of the aggression reached an amount of $1,861,000,000 US dollars and the losses of Felix Air Ways reached an amount of $94,600,000 US dollars, whereas the losses of the two civil air cargo aircraft (76-IL) which belonged to the government were an amount of $105,000,000 US dollars. The losses in the revenues of CAMA due to stopping most of the aviation and non- aviation activities in the airports and other sectors reached an amount of $600,000,000 US dollars and the losses of the expected revenues for projects that were stopped due to the aggression reached an amount of $128,000,000 USD, in addition to $788,400,000 USD being the losses in the sectors that are directly associated with the civil aviation such as travel, air cargo, automatic reservation systems and franchise rights providers.    

The Deputy Chairman stressed that the aggression coalition have closed Sana’a International Airport since 8^th August 2016 in front of the civilian flights and was only restricted for the flights of the UN and the Relief Organizations, which led to the aggravation of the Yemeni people suffering by imposing a blockade on them inside and outside Yemen. He also added that the closure of the airport contradicts with all the international Norms, Conventions and Treaties, of which the International Civil Aviation Convention- Chicago Convention and Montreal Convention of 1988 which states in its first article: “causing damages to airports or equipment or aircraft or hindering the service of the airport is considered within the unlawful acts and a crime which their perpetrators must be punished”.   

He added that the continuation of closing the airport had caused great humanitarian misery which in accordance with the statistics of the Ministry of Health led to the death of 80,000 patients, whereas about 500,000 chronic patient cases are badly in need to travel abroad for medical treatment. Jabal said: “the statistics of the Ministry of Health affirmed absence of more than 120 types of medicines and medical solutions and the patients of kidney failure, cancer tumors and chronic diseases are threatened with as a result of severe shortage in the drugs in Yemen”.    

He pointed out that 1 of 10 patients dies in the road between Sana’a- Aden or Sana’a- Seyoun who take the risk of traveling through unpaved and unsecure roads to Aden and Seyoun airports. He indicated that in spite of the continuous targeting of civil aviation sector and the continuation of the blockade imposed on the airports, CAMA doesn’t reserve any effort to do its duties to restore the readiness of the civil airports. 

Meanwhile, he clarified that CAMA provided all its capabilities, financial, human and technical potentials to manage and operate the civil aviation and meteorology system under a complete proficiency and neutrality in the different phases in accordance with the national and international laws and legislations. He also mentioned that CAMA provides its air navigation services to the world civil airlines which over fly the Yemeni airspace, aircraft of the UN and the international Relief and Humanitarian Organizations which landed at Sana’a International Airport.     

Jabal firmly stressed that the aggression coalition had deliberately intended to paralyze the civil aviation movement and suspend the services of CAMA at different areas that are provided with full proficiency under the certificate of ICAO.