Stay away from Saudi airports: Houthis warn airlines after striking Riyadh airport

Yemen's Houthis warned airlines, travellers and airport staff to avoid Saudi airports a day after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh airport killed 12 people. The warning came as fighting between Saudi forces and Houthis escalated and airport operations were suspended.

In Short

• Houthis warn airlines, travellers to avoid Saudi airports due to attack risks with Riyadh
• Rebels say further Saudi action in Yemen would invite stronger retaliation
• Warning comes a day after Houthi strike kill 12 at Riyadh airport

Yemen’s Houthis on Sunday warned airlines, travellers and airport workers to stay away from Saudi airports, saying they were vulnerable to attacks. The warning came a day after a Houthi strike on Riyadh airport killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, the third such attack on the Saudi capital's airport in a week.

“We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces,” the Iran-backed Houthis said in a post on X. The rebels' warning exempted airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The Houthis warned Saudi Arabia against further military action in Yemen, saying it would trigger a stronger response. “Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come,” the Houthi-run Foreign Ministry said in statements carried by Al Masirah television.

The warning comes amid an escalation in fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

Saudi Arabia has intensified its military involvement in Yemen in recent weeks, launching strikes against the Houthis and backing a government counteroffensive after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump called the Riyadh airport strike "terrible". He said Washington was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis, in a conflict that has spilt over from the wider war on Iran launched by the US and Israel in February.

Saturday’s attack was the third targeting Riyadh’s international airport in a week. Saudi authorities said the 12 dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and citizens from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. More than 300 people were injured.

Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority temporarily suspended airport operations pending damage and safety assessments, without specifying when flights would resume. The Saudi-led coalition also reported that a projectile had fallen near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Saturday and that a drone was intercepted in the region on Sunday.

Despite the attack, Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said a major international energy conference scheduled in Riyadh would proceed on Sunday.

The five-day WPC Energy Congress is being held at a convention centre around 10 km from the airport, with more than 70 ministers and 300 company executives expected to attend. It was not immediately clear whether participants would attend in person or virtually.

Separately, Saudi authorities announced that in-person classes would be suspended and shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday (October 15) for students, teachers and administrative staff.

- Ends
(with inputs from Reuters)