A wave of deadly attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement on Saudi airports has thrown the kingdom’s entire aviation network into chaos, forcing mass flight cancellations, prompting global airlines to suspend services and stoking fears of a dangerous escalation in the long-running Yemen conflict.
The violence began Saturday with a direct strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, one of Saudi Arabia’s busiest international gateways. According to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation, the initial attack left 12 people dead and 309 more injured. That death toll climbed to 13 the following day after an injured Indian national succumbed to their wounds, Reuters reported. A separate Houthi attack on Sunday killed a Pakistani resident and wounded 11 others, Saudi authorities confirmed.
In the wake of these attacks, aviation operations across Saudi Arabia have been severely disrupted. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, cited by Reuters, shows that 60% of scheduled departures from Riyadh’s main airport were canceled on Monday, following a 99.7% cancellation rate just one day prior. Flightradar24 reported that both Riyadh and Dammam airports were fully closed to commercial traffic on Sunday. In Jeddah, airport officials canceled 156 scheduled flights, equal to 20% of the day’s total operations, while another 49% of flights—374 total—were pushed into delays. The widespread disruptions have left thousands of passengers stranded across the kingdom, with no clear timeline for a full return to normal operations.
Multiple international airlines have moved quickly to suspend services to the Saudi capital in response to the security threat. Germany’s Lufthansa has canceled all flights to Riyadh through October 16, while Air France-KLM has extended its suspension of Riyadh services through the end of October. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has also issued an advisory urging American carriers to exercise extreme caution when operating in or over Saudi Arabian airspace.
The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, has claimed full responsibility for the attacks on King Khalid International Airport, as well as additional strikes on Dammam airport and facilities operated by Saudi energy giant Saudi Aramco. Over the weekend, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree issued a renewed public warning on the social platform X, cautioning airlines, shipping companies, aviation workers and travelers against using Saudi airports and airspace—with the sole exception of the airports serving the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. “The airports and airspace are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces, with the exception of the airports of Makkah and Madina,” Saree said in the statement, adding that Saudi Arabia would bear full responsibility for any harm that results from failed interceptions of Houthi strikes.
The Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Houthi movement in Yemen since 2015 has labeled the deadly Riyadh attack a “full-fledged war crime.” The attack has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community, with nations including Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Germany, France and the United Kingdom all issuing statements rejecting the targeting of civilian infrastructure. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres have also added their voices to those denouncing the attacks.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting described the strike as “contemptible” and a “dangerous escalation” in an interview with Sky News over the weekend, noting that the attack underscores why the UK is supporting Saudi Arabia with air defense systems and air-to-air refueling capabilities. When asked whether the UK would expand its support for the kingdom, Streeting told the BBC that further support was “potentially” on the table.
This latest round of violence marks the deadliest escalation in the ongoing tit-for-tat exchange of strikes between the Houthi movement and Saudi Arabia. The Houthi group, which controls Yemen’s capital Sanaa, has repeatedly targeted Saudi infrastructure in response to a years-long Saudi-led blockade of Houthi-held Yemeni territory. Houthi-affiliated media reported last Friday that Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa’s international airport killed two people, coming just one day after Houthi strikes on Riyadh airport killed three. The Houthi leadership has framed its recent attacks as a “blockade for a blockade,” demanding that Saudi Arabia lift its restrictions on land, air and sea access to Houthi-held Yemeni territory in exchange for an end to strikes on Saudi targets.
Despite repeated airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Yemeni civilian infrastructure including airports, the Houthi movement has retained the capability to launch missile and drone strikes deep into Saudi Arabian territory, keeping the kingdom under constant threat of attack and prolonging one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian crises.