Flights inside of Yemen are cheap on Yemenia and should be booked when you are there to get the best deal. They are seldom full except during Haj when all planes are full anyway. There is a "modern" airport here Rayyan Mukalla about 20-30 from town. Like the other airports in Yemen there are no jetways. You just walk off the plane accross the tarmac to the terminal.
The coast road from Mukalla to Aden is said to be safer than the old road. Some of the tribes along the route are hostile to the present government. Under the socialist regime they were supported financially and didn’t need to work. Now they are not given state support. They sometimes ambush and kidnap people travelling along the road from Mukalla to Aden, to get ransom money. Even on the coast road we had a police escort part of the way. When we stopped on the beach the police came with us and collected shells for me! They were very nice. We were travelling in 3 four wheel drive vehicles.
The road from Bir Ali to Al Mukalla, though flat and mentioned less than 150kms it was under construction in major parts of it. So we had to reduce speed and therefore took us a bit more than 2 hours. The good news are for future travellers that will enjoy a comfortable wide road with little traffic. But scenery is fantastic: inactive volcanos on your left, the sea on the right and unique glimpses on daily life!!