Saudi Airports Hit Again By Houthi Missiles

Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator has extended the closure of Riyadh’s main airport following further deadly Houthi strikes, while Dammam’s airport was also attacked over the weekend.

An Oct. 11 missile strike on King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh hit Terminal 4, causing a fire, killing one person and injuring 11 others, according to Saudi authorities.

The attack followed an Oct. 10 strike that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) suspended flights following that attack and extended the suspension on Oct. 12. It has not specified when operations will resume.

The Oct. 10 attack on RUH “caused property damage, the extent of which is currently being assessed,” GACA said.

GACA also confirmed an attack on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport late Oct. 11, saying damage assessments and safety inspections were underway.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks and earlier strikes on RUH. Two attacks on Oct. 8 killed three Saudi citizens and damaged a Saudia aircraft parked at the airport. A Saudia pilot was among those killed.

Earlier attacks on Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Oct. 6 and RUH on Oct. 7 killed three people and injured 36, according to GACA.

The Oct. 10 strike drew widespread condemnation worldwide. “These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “They must stop now.”

A Houthi spokesperson said on Oct. 8 that “all global airlines” risked the “consequences of continuing to operate flights in Saudi airspace, which has become a theater for our military operations.”