Yemen’s critically ill are trapped as war closes the country’s airports

Rajaa Ghirsan, a 50-year-old seamstress in Sanaa, has vocal cord paralysis and severe larynx complications; a device around her neck helps her breathe and must be replaced every two months at a cost of $100. After six operations in Egypt and India since 2006, she needs another complex procedure abroad, but has spent seven years seeking a place on the weekly flight to Amman and cannot afford the overland journey to Aden airport. Sanaa airport, the main air link for people in the Houthi-controlled north, was closed to commercial traffic by the Saudi-led coalition in 2016; limited flights resumed under a 2022 truce, but Israeli attacks in 2025 damaged the airport and destroyed aircraft. Her daughter, Nouran al-Salawi, says Ghirsan is waiting for the operation that could free her from the device, while fearing she may die before receiving it.