{{short description|Airport in Yemen}} {{Infobox airport | name = Riyan International Airport | nativename = {{nobold|{{native name|ar|مطار الريّان الدولي}}}} | image = Mukulla Riyan airport (6407124711).jpg | image-width = 250 | IATA = RIY | ICAO = OYRN | pushpin_map = Yemen | pushpin_map_caption = Location of airport in Yemen | pushpin_label = RIY | pushpin_label_position = right | type = Public | operator = | city-served = [[Mukalla]] | location = [[Mukalla]], [[Hadhramaut]], [[Yemen]] | elevation-m = 16 | elevation-f = 54 | coordinates = {{coord|14|39|45|N|049|22|30|E|type:airport}} | website = | metric-elev = yes | metric-rwy = yes | r1-number = 06/24 | r1-length-m = 3,000 | r1-length-f = | r1-surface = [[Asphalt concrete|Asphalt]] | built = 1982 <small>(current form)</small> }} '''Riyan International Airport''' ({{Langx|ar|مطار الريّان الدولي}}), also known as the '''Riyan Mukalla International Airport''' ({{Langx|ar|مطار ريّان المكلا الدولي}}), is an [[international airport]] in [[Mukalla]], [[Yemen]]. It is not to be confused with the former [[RAF Riyan]], which was located closer to Mukalla.
==History== In 1979, construction of Riyan Airport began with West German engineering consultation, financed by the Kuwait Fund. The total cost for the construction was 10,500 Yemeni rials.<ref>{{cite report |title=People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen: Special Economic Report — Mid-Term Review of the Second Five Year Plan, 1981–85 |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/142781468168253892/pdf/multi-page.pdf |publisher=World Bank |date=4 June 1984 |access-date=27 February 2026}}</ref> Construction of the new airport finished on May 1982.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.adngad.net/articles/299140|title=مقال : عبدالله صالح الشبيبي - عبدالله صالح الشبيبي مطار الريان: تاريخ مطار الريان الدولي|first=عدن|last=الغد|website=www.adngad.net}}</ref>
In 2001, the airport got renamed from "Riyan Airport" to "Mukalla Airport," but its old name remained in use in international civil aviation documents and navigational devices operating at the airport still broadcast its international definition of "Riyan Airport."<ref name=":0" />
In 2008, the airport's [[Air traffic control]] and [[Airport security]] systems got upgraded and the first ever flight academy in Yemen, Golden Way Academy, got opened.<ref name=":0" />
Flights were suspended in March 2015 as a result of the Yemeni civil war which led Al Qaeda militants to take advantage of the turmoil and control Mukalla. A no-fly zone over Yemen was imposed by the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|Saudi Arabian-led intervention]] due to the military conflict.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ghattas|first1=Abir|title=Yemen's No Fly Zone: Thousands of Yemenis are Stranded Abroad|url=https://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/03/31/yemens-no-fly-zone-thousands-of-yemenis-are-stranded-abroad/#|accessdate=8 April 2015}}</ref> Mukalla was later [[Battle of Mukalla (2016)|liberated]] from Al Qaeda, but the airport remained closed until the Emirates Red Crescent funded the building of new terminals and renovated the old airport at a cost of AED 25 million.
In January 2018, the Airport got renamed back to "Riyan International Airport."'''<ref name=":0"/>'''
On November 27, 2019, the airport was reopened with the support of the Emirates Red Crescent. The Governor of Hadramawt province, Maj Gen Faraj Al Bahsani, said he was optimistic that the return of flights would bring economic benefits.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/yemen-s-mukalla-airport-reopens-after-al-qaeda-driven-out-1.943618|title = Yemen's Mukalla airport reopens after al Qaeda driven out}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/26/c_138585125.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128123535/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/26/c_138585125.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 28, 2019|title = Spotlight: UAE continues rehabilitating airports in war-ravaged Yemen - Xinhua | English.news.cn}}</ref> On 9 April 2021, [[Yemenia]], the Yemeni [[flag carrier]], restarted flights to Socotra and Aden.
==Airlines and destinations== <!-- Please use only independent sources, not the airport or airline as they are not independent. -->
{{airport-dest-list <!-- --> |[[Yemenia]]|[[Aden International Airport|Aden]], [[Cairo International Airport|Cairo]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Yemenia resumes Riyan Mukhalla - Cairo sector in 1Q15 |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/250127-iy1q25riycai|website=Aeroroutes |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref> [[Al Maktoum International Airport|Dubai–Al Maktoum]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Yemenia Adds Dubai al Maktoum Service From mid-July 2024 |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240703-iyjul24dwc |website=Aeroroutes |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref> [[Jeddah International Airport|Jeddah]], [[Socotra Airport|Socotra]] <!-- --> }}
==See also== *[[List of airports in Yemen]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{portalbar|Aviation|Yemen}} {{Airports in Yemen}} {{coord|14|39|45|N|49|22|30|E|display=title}} {{authority control}}
[[Category:Airports in Yemen]] [[Category:Mukalla]]