Riyadh Airport Operations Halted Amid Escalating Houthi Attacks

Operations at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were suspended Saturday following a fresh attack, according to the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority. The incident has triggered a significant emergency response, with Reuters reporting that over a dozen ambulances were deployed to the facility. A medical source cited by AFP characterized the event as a 'serious emergency situation,' while local hospital staff reported that dozens of people were wounded. One witness at the airport’s domestic terminal gate 401 described the scene as people fled the area during the blast.

The attack adds to a rapid escalation in violence targeting Saudi aviation infrastructure. According to BBC News, this follows strikes on the same airport the previous day that left three Saudis dead, including a pilot. These incidents build on earlier Houthi-claimed attacks on two Saudi airports occurring on October 6 and 7.

In response to the security environment, international travel to the capital has been heavily disrupted. Aviation tracker Flightradar confirms that all flights to Riyadh have been diverted or cancelled. Several Gulf airlines, including Kuwait Airways, have officially cited the 'security situation' for their flight cancellations. Concurrently, the US embassy and other Western diplomatic missions have issued alerts to their citizens, urging them to avoid the airport and surrounding areas.

This recent surge in violence marks the collapse of an informal truce that began unraveling in July. The conflict, which involves Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, has intensified since the Houthis declared a 'maritime embargo' against Saudi Arabia. The Houthis cite the years-long Saudi blockade and an air strike on Sanaa airport as reasons for their ongoing campaign of drone and missile strikes against tankers, oil facilities, and airports.