Fresh attack hits Riyadh airport as Houthis warn airlines against using Saudi airspace

A fresh attack struck a passenger terminal at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, starting a fire and injuring people a day after a deadly strike on the same airport.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said an “unidentified ⁠projectile” hit the terminal. Saudi air defences also intercepted a missile.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said the attack “resulted in injuries” but gave no casualty figure.

An “assessment of the damage and verification of the safety of the facilities is ongoing”, the authority added.

Saturday’s attack killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, making it the deadliest strike on a Gulf country since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February.

The airport remained closed on Sunday. Saudi civil aviation authorities issued a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, extending the shutdown until 21:00 GMT.

Houthi forces warn against use of Saudi airports following Riyadh attack

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Such notices alert flight crews to time-sensitive information. Saudi authorities have not separately announced the extension.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree renewed his warning against using Saudi airports and airspace, addressing shipping companies, airlines, employees, workers and travellers.

They are “exposed to targeting and a theatre for operations by our forces”, he wrote on X, while excluding the airports of Mecca and Medina from attacks.

Saree said Houthi forces carried out several operations against King Khalid airport on Saturday, “resulting in the disruption of air traffic at the airport and its complete closure”.

He also listed King Fahd Airport in Dammam, an Aramco-affiliated petrol station and a refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region among the targets.

Meanwhile, Houthi-run Al Masirah television reported an attack on Sanaa International Airport in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has not commented on that report.