Aden (South24)

Yemenia Airways has signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase eight new aircraft at a signing ceremony held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday.

The deal, as reported by the government news agency Saba, includes four A320 neo aircraft and four A321 neo aircraft.

Under the agreement, Yemenia Airways will begin making financial payments starting in 2028, with aircraft deliveries scheduled over four years from 2031 to 2034, at a rate of two aircraft per year.

Related: Yemenia Airways to resume flights as Houthis agree to release detained aircraft 

“This deal is the largest in the history of Yemenia, and comes as part of its strategy to modernize its fleet and expand its network of destinations to include more Arab and international airports," Saba stated.

Recently, Yemenia Airways, operated by the internationally recognized government, has been expanding its services and launching new flight routes, the most recent of which were the Aden-Dubai and Aden-Kuwait routes.

Related: Aden-Dubai flights resume after nine-year hiatus 

Most of Yemenia Airways’ operations have been suspended since 2015 due to the outbreak of war, which also led to the closure of many Yemeni airports.

According to Yemenia, the Iran-backed Houthis have frozen about $80 million of the company’s balances in Sanaa. The Houthis had also hijacked four aircraft from the Yemeni fleet in June, before releasing them a few days ago.