Egypt approves flights from Yemen capital

DUBAI: Egypt has approved direct flights between Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital and Cairo, the Yemeni government said on Tuesday, in the latest sign of progress in the war-torn country.

The green light comes after the first commercial flight in six years flew from Sanaa to Amman in Jordan last week, as part of a UN-brokered truce between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Huthi rebels.

"We express our deep thanks to the brotherly Egyptian government... for agreeing to operate direct flights between Sanaa and Cairo in accordance with the armistice agreement," Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak wrote on Twitter.

"The competent authorities in the two countries will work in the coming days to coordinate and complete the technical procedures for operating the flights," he added. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to express his "sincere thanks... for allowing direct flights between Cairo and Sanaa within the framework of the UN armistice in Yemen", an Egyptian foreign ministry statement said.