A Riyadh airport blast triggered evacuations and a wave of flight cancellations on Saturday, as airlines suspended services to the Saudi capital amid an escalating campaign of Houthi missile strikes on the kingdom.
Riyadh airport blast halts flights
More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and travellers were evacuated from parts of the facility after a loud blast was heard there on Saturday, according to Reuters, which cited an eyewitness and people briefed on the matter.
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 showed all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point. Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways cancelled multiple flights between their respective hubs and Riyadh, with some cancellations extending into Monday, according to Reuters.
Two regional officials told the Associated Press that the airport was attacked again and evacuated, and one said air traffic to the Saudi capital had stopped. The airport issued an alert urging passengers to check their flight status with airlines before heading there. A Riyadh resident, Ahmed Sayed, told the AP he heard at least two loud explosions that rocked the capital, and at least 225 flights had been cancelled at the airport over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Canada’s embassy warned of “ongoing military activity.”
Third attack on the airport in a week
Saturday’s incident comes amid an escalation of Houthi missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported that the airport has already been attacked twice this week, leaving at least four people dead and others wounded, and badly damaging an aircraft. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the earlier attacks, according to the AP.
There was no immediate official statement on Saturday’s blast. Saudi Arabia’s government media office and the civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters, while the Saudi Center for International Communication also did not respond, according to the AP.
Why Saudi Arabia is under fire
The Houthis have declared Saudi airspace a zone of military operations and told airliners to stay out of it, after the Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the group in neighboring Yemen earlier this month, according to the AP. Yemen’s government, backed by Saudi airpower, is trying to retake territory along the Red Sea from the Houthis.
The airport attacks are unfolding alongside a wider confrontation with Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, which has already disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
What happens next
With major energy and investment conferences due in Riyadh shortly, organizers said on Saturday that the events would go ahead as planned and sought to reassure attendees of their security, according to Reuters.
But with the kingdom’s main international airport now hit three times in a single week and airlines pulling services, the attacks mark a dangerous new front in the region’s escalating conflict — one with direct consequences for air travel across the Middle East.
Based on reporting by Reuters and the Associated Press.
