First since 2016، a plane carrying hajj pilgrims leaves Yemen's Sanaa‏

The first commercial flight from Yemen's rebel-held capital to Saudi Arabia since 2016 took off carrying hajj pilgrims on Saturday، in the latest sign of easing tensions after years of war، AFP reported

Seven years after the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels blockaded Sanaa's international airport، a Yemenia Airways plane carrying 277 passengers departed at around 8 p.m. (1700 GMT)، an official told AFP.

"I hope the roadblock breaks down and the airport stays open. We are so relieved and joyful، I can't even put into words how we feel،" Mohammad Askar، one of the travellers،  said.

The flight to Jeddah is the first to Saudi Arabia since the coalition blockade of Sanaa's airport shut it down in August 2016، more than a year into the Saudi-led military operation to drive the Houthis out of power.

Air traffic was largely halted by the blockade، but there have been exemptions for aid flights that are a lifeline for the population.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the fighting in Yemen or from indirect causes such as lack of food or water، in what the United Nations calls one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises.

Two more flights will depart on Monday and Tuesday، officials said. The Houthis' Works Minister Ghaleb Mutlaq said about 200 flights would be needed to accommodate the 24،000 people that he said wanted to travel.

"We consider what is happening today as a good gesture، so that airports، especially Sanaa airport، will be opened to Yemeni travellers،" Najeeb Al-Aji، the Houthis' minister of guidance، hajj and umrah، told journalists.

Thousands of pilgrims in Houthi-held areas travel by bus to Saudi Arabia، or to government-controlled Aden -- an arduous 12-hour journey، due to checkpoints -- where they can fly to the neighbouring country.

"We can no longer bear the burdens and hardships of travelling to Aden،" said Akram Mohamed Murshid، one of the pilgrims boarding the plane.

Fighting in Yemen sharply declined after a UN-brokered truce came into effect in April last year، and full-scale hostilities did not resume even when the ceasefire lapsed in October.

Among the terms of the truce was a resumption of international flights from Sanaa. The first commercial flight in six years took off for Jordan's capital Amman in May last year.