UAE receiving Yemeni cargo after ban lifted

Cargo shipments from Yemen are allowed into the UAE again after the Federal General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) lifted a two month-long ban.

The UAE has begun accepting cargo shipments again from Yemen after the end of a two-month ban last month.

The Emirates lifted the ban on December 9, according to Saif Mohammed al Suwaidi, the director general of the Federal General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The ban was imposed in October after the discovery of a Yemeni plot to use explosives hidden in freight shipments to blow up cargo airliners bound for the US.

The GCAA said it had introduced measures for 100 per cent screening of Yemeni cargo, which was above guidelines set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which recommends that governments selectively screen for dangerous items among goods coming from Yemen.

"The ban has been lifted from Yemen after GCAA took the necessary measures to ensure the ultimate level of security is in place for safe and secure operations to and from Yemen," the GCAA said in a statement.

"I believe it is difficult for anybody to break into the security checks imposed on cargo and passengers," said Mr al Suwaidi, who was quoted on WAM, the state-run news agency.

Etihad Airways said there were still bans on Yemen cargo to Australia, the US and UK, and that the Abu Dhabi airline would continue to observe restrictions.

Several Middle East nations are investing heavily in airport infrastructure to develop world-class transit hubs for both passenger and air cargo shipments.

Last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the region's carriers recorded strong growth for November, even as the global rise in shipments started to slow.

"Airlines in the Middle East continue to grow freight volumes over their hubs, now carrying 14 per cent more freight than before the recession," it said. Worldwide, it concluded that "with the stimulus of inventory restocking activity removed, further growth in air freight demand will be driven by end-consumer demand".

The October plot involved sending packages containing the explosive PETN to synagogues in the Chicago area. The packages were discovered in the UK and Dubai after Saudi intelligence services, which monitorneighbouring Yemen closely, passed on crucial information.

The parcel found in Dubai arrived there via Doha on a Qatar Airways aircraft.

Although the cargo ban has been lifted, air cargo shipments have been slow to start up again between Yemen and the UAE, as airlines weigh when to resume service.

Dilker CP, a business development manager of Expolanka Freight in Abu Dhabi, said many airlines his firm dealt with were still not accepting cargo on flights from Yemen. "The GCAA has lifted the ban, but it is all down to airlines making their own decision [when to restart operations]," he said.

Dr Issam Khairallah, the president of Midex Airlines, an all-cargo airline based in the UAE, said the lifting of the ban would not affect Midex's operations. "Yemen is not an important destination; there is not much cargo business," he said.

Yemen is thought to make up only a small share of Middle East trade routed through the major Gulf airport hubs.

Its major exports include coffee, dried and salted fish, crude oil and liquefied natural gas, according to the CIA World Fact Book.

In addition, the GCAA and Yemen also signed an agreement to increase flights between the two countries.

The memorandum of understanding between the two governments adds weekly flights by UAE carriers to the Yemeni capital Sanaa as well as flights to other Yemeni airports, WAM said.