UN welcomes first commercial flight from Sanaa airport to Cairo

New York: The United Nations on Wednesday welcomed the first commercial flight from Yemen's Sanaa airport to Cairo earlier in the day, a UN spokesman said.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told the regular press briefing that "this was the seventh flight operating under the terms of the UN brokered two-month nationwide truce and represents an important element of the truce." A total of 2,495 Yemenis have traveled so far between Sanaa, Amman and Cairo.

Dujarric said that the UN thanks the government of Egypt for the invaluable support in bringing about this important achievement, and the government of Yemen for their constructive role in making this possible.

"Despite the good news today on the Cairo flights - and the improved humanitarian situation the truce has delivered over the last two months, we must be clear that humanitarian needs in Yemen remain high," said the spokesman.

Some 19 million people will go hungry this year, including more than 160,000 who will face famine-like conditions. More than four million people have been displaced since the war started. Severe needs persist across all sectors, according to the spokesman.

Aid agencies need 4.28 billion US dollars to assist 17.3 million people across the country this year. So far, only 26 percent has been funded.

"This means that core programs like food assistance, healthcare and other activities are scaling back when they should be expanding," Dujarric said.