Tourists Stranded on Socotra as Emergency Halts Flights (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: They came for untouched beaches and rare wildlife. Now they can't leave. Scores, possibly hundreds of foreign tourists are stranded on the remote island of Socotra off the coast of Yemen, according to tourists who spoke to CNN. CNN cannot independently verify how many tourists are stranded, but flights in and out of the island were suspended after a state of emergency shut down all ports of entry and exit.

[00:00:24] Speaker 2: If it is a delay of one day, two days, you can accept it. But now it's becoming a problem for all of us because we have activities, we have jobs that we cannot go back to.

[00:00:38] Speaker 3: In my case, it's a health problem because in a few days I will have to make a life-saving drug that is not easily found. So my concern is to be able to return to Italy as soon as possible.

[00:00:53] Speaker 1: Socotra is usually shielded from Yemen's long-running conflict, but regional tensions over the last week, resulting in Saudi strikes on a UAE-linked shipment to Yemen, meant a state of emergency declared on 30 December closed all routes in and out. But reports from local media say Yemenia Airways will launch flights from the island to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, starting from Wednesday 7 January to evacuate foreign tourists, suggesting they may be able to return home soon. CNN has reached out to Yemenia Airways. Socotra is known for its unique biodiversity, pristine white sand beaches and exotic flora like the dragon's blood tree. It's become popular for tourists in the region as an adventure destination, as well as for travel influencers on social media.