Riyadh Airport Resumes Flights After Two-Week Closure as Coalition Downs Two Drones
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh resumed flights on Sunday after a two-week closure following Houthi strikes, even as the Saudi-led coalition said it shot down two drones in the Riyadh area and the Houthis warned the airport was still a target.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport resumed flights on Sunday after a two-week closure following strikes by Yemen’s Houthis on the Saudi capital, the airport said. The return came with a warning from the Houthis that more attacks could follow.
The airport said Terminal 1 would handle domestic flights and Terminal 2 would handle international flights operated by national carriers, effective Sunday, October 25. It posted the plan on X on Saturday.
Flight tracking site FlightRadar showed a plane taking off from Riyadh early on Sunday, heading to the Saudi city of Jeddah, according to TBS News, citing AFP.
Two drones downed as flights resumed
The Saudi-led military coalition said early on Sunday that it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area, TBS News reported.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the airport was still “unsafe” and a “military target”. He warned airlines, airport staff and travelers against using it. “The Yemeni Armed Forces warn all international, regional, and local airlines, as well as staff and travellers, against using King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, as it is unsafe,” he said. “The Saudi regime shall bear the consequences of any operations at the airport.”
Why the airport closed
Operations at the airport were halted on October 10, following an attack claimed by the Houthis that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the Bangkok Post reported. The report called it the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade. The suspension was extended two days later.
Saudi Arabia, along with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which it backs, has faced a wave of Houthi attacks in recent weeks after a years-long truce broke down in the summer, TBS News reported. The Bangkok Post reported that the Houthis have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi airports, ports and oil installations. Saudi Arabia has stepped up its military involvement in Yemen. It has launched strikes against the Houthis and backed a government counteroffensive after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.
The fighting has shifted the focus of the wider US-Iran war and deepened a humanitarian disaster in Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, TBS News reported.
Reporting based on coverage by TBS News and the Bangkok Post.
