Hundreds of tourists from Europe and the US, stranded on an island in Yemen, amid internal fighting: “No more planes leave”
Airport in Socotra Island, Yemen. Photo source: Dreamstime.com
At least 400 foreign tourists are stranded on the island of Socotra, located between the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, after Yemeni authorities closed the airspace following the declaration of a national state of emergency, reports CNN and the Israeli website Ynetnews.
British, French, American, Chinese and Polish tourists, as well as Russians, arrived on the Indian Ocean island to celebrate the New Year and were left stranded after all flights were suddenly cancelled, a Western diplomat told AFP.
Tourists have since turned to their embassies for assistance, while diplomatic missions are pressuring Saudi Arabia and Yemen to help organize evacuations.
CNN reports that up to several “hundreds” of people are stranded on the island amid renewed fighting in the south, and Ynetnews confirms the information. The authorities have not, until the time of publication of this news, made any statement regarding the number of stranded tourists.
“There are a lot of tourists,” an American citizen on Socotra told CNN. “There are all kinds of Westerners here. There are hundreds of people,” he added.
Another tourist stranded on the island, a Dutch-Polish citizen, spoke to CNN and said he and his family have been on the island for 11 days. “Many planes have come in, but none are leaving. There are too many people on this island at the moment,” he said.
The tourist also says that the embassies “unfortunately can't do anything, because they don't have offices in Yemen” and that they were advised to leave the island on commercial ships to Oman, from where they could fly to Europe or the US.
Yemen declared a national state of emergency on December 30, 2025, following airstrikes launched by Saudi Arabia on strategic targets. As early as last week, the US State Department had announced that it had received information regarding “closures, cancellations and diversions of commercial flights to and from the island of Socotra”, to nearby airports.
A country plunging into crisis
As of 2020, the island of Socotra is under the authority of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist entity supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to analyzes cited by CNN, the UAE exercises de facto control over the island through dominant economic influence.
The current escalation comes after STC forces seized vast swathes of southern Yemen in early December, eliminating the presence of Riyadh-backed government troops. Regional tensions reached a critical point when Saudi Arabia bombed the port of Mukalla, suspecting that two ships belonging to the UAE had delivered heavy weapons and combat vehicles to the separatists.
Although Abu Dhabi has officially announced the withdrawal of its contingents from Yemen, the region remains a powder keg. The situation is fueled by STC's plan to organize a referendum for independence in two years, a move aimed at self-determination for the south, including the island of Socotra.
Photo source: Dreamstime.com
