Foreign carriers suspend Riyadh flights as Houthi airport strikes continue

The Houthis have claimed responsibility for four large-scale attacks on Saudi airports and Aramco facilities over the past 24 hours, using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. Spokesperson Yahya Saree listed King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and Aramco’s Shedgum gas plant and Tanajib oil facility in a statement released yesterday. Saudi authorities confirmed the strikes on both airports. Saudi-led coalition forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis targeting Khamis Mushait earlier today, coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al Maliki said.

Riyadh’s airport was hit for a second day running: An unknown projectile hit Passenger Hall 4 at King Khalid International Airport, igniting a fire, the Saudi-led coalition said. The attack resulted in the death of one Pakistani national and 11 injuries, while the material damage is still being assessed, SPA reported. Air defenses also intercepted and destroyed a separate cruise missile near the airport. The airport has been shut since Saturday’s strike, when the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) suspended operations, with no confirmed reopening date.

A projectile hit the tarmac at Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport yesterday as well: GACA said late yesterday that the airport had come under attack and that safety inspections were underway, according to a statement. Flightradar24 showed delays and cancellations at the airport, the kingdom’s third-largest.

ICYMI- Saturday’s attack on Riyadh airport killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Earlier strikes last week closed Saudi airports briefly — Abha International and King Khalid were hit on 6 and 7 October, killing two residents at Abha (28 injured) and one at King Khalid (eight injured). Two more strikes on King Khalid on 8 October, aimed at airport facilities and a Saudia aircraft, killed three Saudi citizens, including Saudia Captain Hamoud Al Kalthami. Saree claimed responsibility for Thursday’s strikes on King Khalid, Najran airport, and the Khamis Mushait airbase.

The Houthis say every Saudi airport except in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina is a potential target. The group is warning carriers, airport staff, and travelers against using Saudi airspace.

Foreign carriers are suspending Riyadh flights: Analytics firm Cirium counted around 300 cancellations at Riyadh on Thursday, and Flightradar24 logged another 131 at Riyadh on Friday. By Sunday, some 606 flights had been listed as canceled at King Khalid International Airport. Qatar Airways, EgyptAir, and Singapore Airlines are among those that suspended Riyadh service. Etihad Airways has canceled its Abu Dhabi-Riyadh flights through tomorrow, while flydubai has suspended flights to Riyadh and Abha up to and including Wednesday, 14 October.

Regulators are telling airlines to stay away: The EU’s EASA widened its Saudi airspace advisory, citing the risk that air defenses could misidentify civil aircraft. OpsGroup, a network of nearly 10k aviation professionals, sent members a “do not fly” warning.

Riyadh’s energy week opened as planned yesterday, without some of the industry’s top executives. The five-day WPC Energy Congress is being held at a convention center about 10km from the airport, the Saudi energy ministry said, and the International Energy Forum’s ministerial meeting, co-hosted by Italy and Nigeria, also went ahead with media access limited to invited journalists, The National reports. Chief executives of oil companies, including ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, and BP, have canceled their plans to attend, the Financial Times reports, citing two people familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump says the US will decide quickly whether to join strikes on the Houthis. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” he told reporters, adding that the US had “just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, told his Saudi counterpart that Tehran is ready to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Reuters reports. The UK could “potentially” provide more support to Saudi Arabia, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting suggested, the BBC reports.

REMEMBER- The Houthis attacked Yemen’s Aden International Airport last week with two ballistic missiles and several drones, hitting the runway and passenger terminal. They also struck Saudi airports and sites including King Khalid, Jazan’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International, Najran International, and Abha, plus Aramco’s Rabigh refinery.

ALSO- A fully laden crude supertanker was struck by an unknown projectile 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera in the UAE over the weekend in what maritime security sources say could signal a widening of shipping risk beyond the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports. The Panama-flagged Gem No. 2 caught fire after the strike, though the blaze was extinguished; the crew’s status, damage, and any environmental impact remain unclear.

That shifts the geography of the problem: Last month, attacks were still concentrated around the strait itself, including one on the Adnoc-operated Al Maryah. The latest strike happened outside the Hormuz area and came days after another tanker was hit off Qatar, pointing to a broader threat across Gulf waters rather than just at the chokepoint.