Yemen’s government reports missiles landing near passenger plane in Aden
Yemen’s government said two missiles struck Aden airport near a passenger aircraft preparing to depart for Cairo. Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said passengers and crew were safe and blamed the Houthis. No casualties were reported at the airport. A Houthi military source described military targets in Aden; responsibility and intended targets remained independently unverified.
Geopolitics··Morning
Missiles land near a departing aircraft
Yemen’s internationally recognised government said two missiles struck Aden International Airport on 16 October while a passenger aircraft was preparing to leave for Cairo. Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said the missiles landed about 500 metres from the Yemenia Airways aircraft. He said passengers and crew were safe. No casualties were reported in the airport incident, and government officials blamed the Houthi movement.[1], [2]
Al-Eryani’s statement placed the missiles about 100 metres from the middle of the runway. He released his account on X and argued that the strike had endangered passengers, flight crews and air navigation. Aden’s security department also reported two missiles landing inside the airport grounds. The descriptions of impact locations and responsibility came from Yemeni government officials.[1], [2]
A Houthi source describes military targets
A Houthi military source told AFP that Saudi forces’ headquarters and a weapons depot in Aden had been targeted. This differed from the government’s description of an airport attack. Responsibility and the intended targets were not independently established. Al-Eryani said dozens of people could have been killed; that was his description of the potential consequences, while no deaths were reported at the airport.[1], [2]
The minister said the airport handled dozens of flights daily. He identified patients travelling for treatment, students and Yemenis living abroad among those relying on it. Some were returning to family, while others were leaving for work. He said attacks on the airport threatened their access to travel, medical care and education, describing the facility as a connection with the outside world.[2]
Aden has hosted the government since 2015
Aden has served as the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2015. The Houthis took the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, and a Saudi-led coalition intervened to support the government the following year. A truce was reached in 2022 before renewed fighting this year. The airport incident followed an attack on a presidential palace complex in Aden the day before.[1]
Al-Eryani thanked the Saudi-led coalition for its support and said the government would continue protecting civilians and important national facilities. He also pledged to counter the Houthi threat and restore state authority. These were the government’s stated intentions after the airport incident, alongside its account that the aircraft’s passengers and crew had escaped harm.[2]
