Riyadh’s airport has been hit for the second time in a matter of days. A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia struck King Khalid International at around 3 pm local time on Saturday, according to diplomatic sources cited by Tagesspiegel and AFP. Dozens of people were injured and at least five are in intensive care; a hospital source said most are Saudi nationals. No deaths have been reported so far.
Saudi authorities did not initially confirm either the attack or an evacuation. Three witnesses said the airport was cleared; one passenger told AFP he was at Gate 403 in the domestic area and saw Gate 401 hit. The Houthis have not claimed this attack. According to Flightradar24 data, all flights to Riyadh were diverted or cancelled, Euronews reports.
Germany’s Foreign Office said on Saturday that further air strikes and disruption to air traffic should be expected, and that the government strongly advises against using Riyadh airport until further notice. Its country page carries a partial travel warning for Saudi Arabia (as of 10 October): travel to the border zone with Yemen is warned against, the wider border region including Abha and Khamis Mushait is strongly discouraged, and travel to the rest of the country is advised against too. Germans in the country are asked to register on the crisis preparedness list and to check the situation before heading to an airport.
How did it get here?
- July: the Houthis announce a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.
- September: after an offensive they hold much of Yemen’s coastline, including the Bab al-Mandab strait; ZDF describes the 2022 ceasefire as effectively void. On 18–19 September there are the first incidents at Riyadh airport.
- Early October: Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority GACA says, as relayed by Al Jazeera, that attacks on Abha and Riyadh airports killed three civilians and injured 36. The Houthis tell all airlines to avoid Saudi airspace (Mecca and Medina excepted) and warn that every Saudi oil facility could become a target.
- 8 October: the Lufthansa Group suspends flights to Riyadh through 16 October inclusive; several hundred flights are cancelled, airliners.de reports, citing dpa.
Sources differ on details. Al Jazeera dates the Riyadh attack to Wednesday 7 October, Euronews to Thursday 8 October. They also differ on the three dead: Al Jazeera names a Moroccan woman, an Algerian woman and a Sudanese man, while Euronews summarises them as three Saudis. We use the official figure: three dead in total.
What could happen next?
Our assessment, with limited confidence: the most likely course is continued strikes on civilian infrastructure and airlines extending their suspensions beyond 16 October. A second possibility is Saudi retaliation – the Houthi-aligned Al-Masirah channel has already reported strikes on Hodeidah airport, which Saudi Arabia has not commented on – and Yemen’s government has announced a large-scale offensive against Houthi-held territory. Quick de-escalation looks the least likely outcome on current signals.
For travellers with a ticket to or via Riyadh, the practical step is to contact the airline or tour operator first and check the Foreign Office guidance.
Sources: German Foreign Office, Tagesspiegel/AFP, Euronews, Al Jazeera, airliners.de
