Turkish Airlines cancels Istanbul-Yemen flights

ANKARA

Turkish Airlines has cancelled Istanbul-Yemen flights because of political unrest in the volatile gulf country, it was announced Tuesday.

In an official statement on the airline’s website, the national flag-carrier said some flights (dated March 31-May 5, 2015) between Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Yemen’s Sanaa and Aden international airports had been cancelled because of political turmoil in the country.

"Due to political unrest in Yemen, some of our flights have been cancelled," the statement said. Passengers can visit the airlines' website to check their flights before turning up to airports, it added.

Since last week, several Arab states have joined the Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthi militia positions in Yemen. Saudi Arabia said that the airstrikes were in response to calls by embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to "save the people from Houthi militias."

Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the Shia militants overran the capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country as well.