Yemen: Transitional Council officials inaugurate mysterious UAE-built airport on Abd al-Kuri Island

Yemeni government officials affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) have inaugurated a mysterious UAE-built airport on Abd al-Kuri Island in Yemen's Socotra Archipelago. The airport, years after the UAE began constructing it as part of a military base, has been inaugurated.

The official Saba news agency reported that Transport Minister Dr. Abdulsalam Hamid, along with Socotra Archipelago Governor Raafat Al-Thaqali—both members of the Southern Transitional Council—inaugurated Abd al-Kuri Island Airport on Wednesday.

Hamid said the airport's opening "will contribute to connecting the island to the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen, and the world." He thanked the UAE, which he said had provided Abd al-Kuri Island, Socotra Governorate, and Yemen in general with "projects and services in various fields that have contributed to the advancement and improvement of the community's lives."

The Minister of Transport explained that "the island has suffered from deprivation and isolation, lacking the most basic humanitarian, educational, and health services, clean water, and means of communication for many years." He affirmed that the ministry and the government will devote great attention to Abd al-Kuri Island and the Socotra Archipelago Governorate, providing them with vital projects.

Despite international reports over the years revealing the airport's construction and possible use for military purposes by the UAE, which dominates the island, the Yemeni government has not released any information about the construction of an airport in Abd al-Kuri.

The American website, The Maritime Executive , said in a report on February 23, translated by “ Yemeni Youth Net”:The mysterious airport on Abd al-Kuri Island in Yemen's Socotra Archipelago is now fully operational. The website reported that on February 16, the Sentinel 2 satellite captured a large transport plane on the northern end of the runway. With the accuracy available to ordinary users, the plane's configuration and wingspan are consistent with a C-17 transport aircraft.

The UAE is accused of constructing the airport as part of a military base on the island, which it could use in international conflicts given its location within a major shipping lane linking Europe and Asia, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.