"The crew made contact with coalition forces while flying over the Red Sea," Khaled al-Shayef said.
"The coalition refused to allow the landing [in Sanaa] and the plane had to fly to Cairo," he said.
The Arab Mayadeen news channel reported earlier on Wednesday that an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia prevented a Russian plane from entering Yemen to evacuate its nationals from the crisis-hit country.
Last Thursday, the coalition headed by Saudi Arabia launched a military operation against the Houthi rebels' positions in Yemen. The coalition started carrying out airstrikes upon the request of displaced Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Shiite Houthis, the main opposition force in Yemen, had taken over Sanaa, forcing Hadi to flee the country, and continued rapid advances in other cities.
