On Saturday morning, a blast ripped through King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, leaving three Saudi citizens dead and a wave of injuries among travellers and staff. Eyewitnesses spoke of a sudden explosion, followed by scattered bodies and a stream of ambulances converging on the terminal. The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed that the first strike hit the airport itself, while a second missile damaged a Saudia aircraft, killing one of the airline’s pilots.
Immediate impact on the airport and passengers
The airport was swiftly evacuated after the explosions. Authorities directed travellers to contact their airlines directly, warning that most scheduled flights to and from Riyadh had been either diverted or cancelled. Flight-tracking platform flightradar24 showed only a lone helicopter hovering over the runway while commercial traffic halted. Emergency services dispatched more than a dozen ambulances, and hospitals across the city received a surge of patients, with emergency doctors called in to manage the “serious emergency situation”.
Airline reactions and flight disruptions
In the aftermath, several carriers announced immediate cancellations. Kuwait Airways halted all operations to the Saudi capital, citing the “security situation”. Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways also withdrew multiple flights, some of which remained suspended into the following Monday. The disruption came just days before Riyadh was set to host major energy and investment conferences, prompting organisers to reassure participants that the events would proceed as planned despite the heightened risk.
Key airlines suspending service
Beyond the three carriers mentioned, a handful of other regional airlines followed suit, citing guidance from their home governments and safety concerns. Western embassies in Riyadh—including those of the United States, Germany, Canada and Spain—issued advisories urging citizens to avoid the airport until a clear security assessment could be made.
Broader conflict backdrop
The attacks are part of an intensifying campaign by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Earlier in the week, the group claimed responsibility for two separate missile strikes on the same airport, as well as attacks on an airbase in Khamis Mushait and an airport in the southern city of Najran. While Saudi officials have not confirmed the Najran or Khamis Mushait strikes, they have acknowledged the fatalities at Riyadh.
Houthi spokespeople argue that these operations are a direct response to what they describe as “Saudi aggression”, citing a barrage of over 60 airstrikes and missile attacks launched by the Saudi-led coalition in the previous 24 hours. The rebels have also declared a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia, targeting oil facilities, tankers and commercial aviation in the Red Sea. Maritime embargo refers to the systematic interdiction of shipping routes to pressure an opposing nation.
Strategic gains and setbacks
Recent weeks have seen the Houthis seize key points along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the port of Mokha at the Bab al-Mandab Strait—one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global trade. Pro-government forces later announced they had re-secured control of the strait’s southern exit, but the back-and-forth highlighted the fluid nature of the frontline.
The Saudi-backed coalition, formed in 2015, originally aimed to restore Yemen’s internationally recognised government after the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa. A temporary ceasefire brokered in 2022 began to unravel in July, paving the way for the current wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi soil.
Human toll and ongoing concerns
The latest incident adds to a grim tally: attacks on 6 and 7 October at Abha International Airport left two dead and 28 wounded, while a separate strike at King Khalid airport killed another individual. The cumulative loss of life, coupled with thousands of injuries, underscores the escalating humanitarian dimension of the conflict, already ranked among the world’s worst crises.
Saudi authorities have restored limited air traffic at Riyadh airport, but the situation remains volatile. Officials continue to monitor the airspace, and regional airlines are maintaining heightened alert levels. As diplomatic efforts to revive a ceasefire stall, the likelihood of further strikes on civilian infrastructure appears, regrettably, to be increasing.
