Alyemda
Encyclopedia
Alyemda internationally known as Democratic Yemen Airlines or just Yemen Airlines, was the flag carrier
airline of South Yemen.
at Aden Airport
, the former Khormaksar Air Force Base
. Following the unification of Yemen in 1990, the airline was renamed first Alyemda Air Yemen in 1992, and later (in 1995) Alyemda Airlines of Yemen. On 11 February 1996, Alyemda merged into Yemenia
to create a single national airline for Yemen.
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
airline of South Yemen.
History
Alyemda was founded in 1971, four years after the independence of South Yemen and operated a network of flight routes throughout Africa and the Middle East, with its hubAirline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
at Aden Airport
Aden International Airport
Aden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen .The airport was established on the former RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. It later served as a Soviet Air Force station during the 1970s and 1980s...
, the former Khormaksar Air Force Base
RAF Khormaksar
RAF Khormaksar was a Royal Air Force station in Aden. Its motto was "Into the Remote Places". During the 1960s, it was the base for nine squadrons and became the RAF's busiest-ever station. It later became Aden International Airport.-History:...
. Following the unification of Yemen in 1990, the airline was renamed first Alyemda Air Yemen in 1992, and later (in 1995) Alyemda Airlines of Yemen. On 11 February 1996, Alyemda merged into Yemenia
Yemenia
Yemenia , also known as Yemen Airways is the national airline of Yemen, based in Sana'a. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger flights to destinations in Africa and the Middle East, as well as to Asia and Europe, out of its hubs at Sana'a International Airport, and Aden...
to create a single national airline for Yemen.
Fleet details
Over the years of its existence, Alyemda operated the following aircraft types:- Airbus A310Airbus A310The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
- Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
- Boeing 720Boeing 720The Boeing 720 is a four-engine narrow-body short- to medium-range passenger jet airliner. Developed by Boeing in the late 1950s from the Boeing 707, the 720 has a shorter fuselage and less range...
- Boeing 737-200
- de Havilland Canada Dash 7De Havilland Canada Dash 7The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL capabilities. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing and was later sold to Bombardier...
- Douglas C-47 Skytrain
- Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
- Douglas DC-6Douglas DC-6The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
- Tupolev Tu-154Tupolev Tu-154The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown...
Accidents and incidents
- On 22 August 1972, an Alyemda Douglas DC-6Douglas DC-6The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
was hijacked by three passengers during a scheduled flight from BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
to CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in an act of demonstration for a unification of North YemenNorth YemenNorth Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...
and South Yemen. The pilots were forced to have a fuel stop at NicosiaNicosiaNicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, and continued to BenghaziBenghaziBenghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
, LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, where the perpetrators surrendered to local police forces, without having injured anyone of the remaining 49 passengers and six crew. - On 16 or 17 September 1975, an Alyemda Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
(registeredAircraft registrationAn aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
7O-ABF) was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Beihan Airport, following a scheduled flight from Aden. - On 1 March 1977, an Alyemda Douglas C-47 (registered 7O-ABF) crashed into the Red SeaRed SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
shortly after take-off from Aden International AirportAden International AirportAden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen .The airport was established on the former RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. It later served as a Soviet Air Force station during the 1970s and 1980s...
. All 16 passengers and three crew members that had been on the scheduled domestic flight were killed. - On 26 January 1982, five months before the outbreak of the First Lebanon War1982 Lebanon WarThe 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, an Alyemda Boeing 707-300 cargo aircraft (registered 7O-ACJ) carrying weapons from LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
to LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
was attacked by an unidentified fighter aircraft upon approaching Damascus International AirportDamascus International AirportDamascus International Airport is a public airport located in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Officially opened in the mid 1970s, DAM is Syria's busiest international airport. The airport is experiencing significant annual passenger growth rates...
. The pilots managed to safely land the plane, even though it had received substantial damage. - On 9 May 1982, an Alyemda de Havilland Canada Dash 7De Havilland Canada Dash 7The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL capabilities. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing and was later sold to Bombardier...
(registered 7O-ACK) crashed into the sea upon approaching Aden International AirportAden International AirportAden International Airport is an international airport in Aden, Yemen .The airport was established on the former RAF Khormaksar, which opened in 1917 and closed as an RAF station in 1967. It later served as a Soviet Air Force station during the 1970s and 1980s...
following a scheduled flight from Al MukallaAl MukallaAl Mukalla is a main sea port and the capital city of the Hadramaut coastal region in Yemen in the southern part of Arabia on the Gulf of Aden close to the Arabian Sea...
. Of the 45 passengers, 21 lost their lives, as well as two out of the four crew members, making it the worst accident in the history of the airline. - On 20 January 1983, three persons hijacked an Alyemda Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
during a flight from Aden to Kuwait CityKuwait City-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
, and forced the pilots to divert to Djibouti City. At Djibouti AirportDjibouti-Ambouli International AirportDjibouti-Ambouli International Airport is a joint civilian/military-use airport situated in Djibouti City, Djibouti. In 2004, the airport served 182,641 passengers.-Military:...
, the perpetrators surrendered. - On 15 August 1985, an Alyemda Boeing 707 (registered 7O-ACO) carrying 65 passengers and 8 crew went temporarily out of control following an autopilotAutopilotAn autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...
malfunction and subsequent pilot error. The aircraft heavily pitched up and down, causing the death of two passengers and one flight attendant. When the pilots managed to resolve the situation, they carried out an emergency landing at Aden Airport, from where the flight had departed. - On 27 August 1993, an Alyemda Boeing 737-200 was hijacked during a scheduled domestic flight from Al MukallaAl MukallaAl Mukalla is a main sea port and the capital city of the Hadramaut coastal region in Yemen in the southern part of Arabia on the Gulf of Aden close to the Arabian Sea...
to Al GhaydahAl GhaydahAl Ghaydah is the capital city of Al Mahrah Governorate in southeastern Yemen. It is located at around ....
by an armed person who demanded to be taken to either KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
or OmanOmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
. The pilots continued to Al Ghaydah AirportAl Ghaydah AirportAl Ghaydah Airport is an airport near Al Ghaydah, Yemen.-Airlines and destinations:...
instead, where all passengers could leave, allowing police forces to storm the plane and arrest the perpetrator. - On 14 September 1994, a hijacking attempt occurred on board another Alyemda Boeing 737-200 on a flight from Aden to Sana'aSana'a-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
.