Barran Press
On September 10, 2024, the French news agency reported that the Paris Court of Appeal found Yemenia Airlines guilty of involuntary manslaughter following the 2009 crash of one of its planes off the coast of the Comoros, which resulted in 152 fatalities.
The court upheld a previous ruling from September 14, 2022, imposing the maximum legal fine of €225,000 on the airline. The tragic incident occurred during the night of June 29-30, 2009, as Flight 626 was preparing to land at Moroni Airport, leading to the deaths of 141 passengers, including 65 French nationals, and 11 crew members. The sole survivor, a 12-year-old girl, clung to the wreckage for hours before being rescued.
Investigations into the black boxes, recovered in August 2009 from a depth of 1,280 meters, concluded that the crash was due to a series of pilot errors.
This morning, Court of Appeal President Sylvie Madik confirmed the ruling, adding a penalty requiring the decision to be displayed for two months at Charles de Gaulle and Marseille airports. The court followed the public prosecutor's request for the same penalty issued during the second trial, stating that it saw "no mitigating circumstances" for the airline.
In September 2022, the Paris Assize Court imposed the maximum financial penalty of €225,000 on Yemenia Airlines, convicting it of involuntary manslaughter in the Airbus A310 disaster off the Comoros coast. The court also ordered the airline to pay over €1 million to organizations representing the victims' families for damages and legal fees.
The ongoing conflict in Yemen and the division of the country, particularly with Houthi control over vast regions including the capital, Sana'a, have severely affected Yemen's aviation fleet.
In June, Yemenia resumed direct flights between the temporary capital, Aden, and Dubai after a hiatus of more than nine years due to the war. Additionally, Kuwait recently donated three aircraft and two engines to Yemenia following the Houthi seizure of three of the airline's planes at Sana'a International Airport.