Saudi Arabia reopens Riyadh airport after two weeks amid Houthi airstrikes

[Financial News] Saudi Arabia’s airport in the capital, which had been closed for about two weeks following long-range attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this month, resumed operations on the 25th (local time). However, operations were also disrupted by Houthi attacks that day.
According to foreign media outlets, including France’s Agence France-Presse (AFP), the website of King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, listed schedules for several flights to and from London, United Kingdom; Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE); and Beijing, China, among other destinations. Saudi carriers Saudia and flynas operated flights, while foreign airlines including Air India and Emirates were also listed in the schedules. However, AFP cited the flight-tracking website Flightradar24 as reporting that a small number of flights had departed, while most had been canceled.
On the 24th, King Khalid Airport announced on social media platform X that operations would resume, saying, “Starting Sunday, October 25, 2026, Terminal 1 will be designated for domestic flights, and Terminal 2 exclusively for international flights operated by national carriers.” In response, Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree warned travelers, staff and airlines not to use the airport, saying in a statement, “King Khalid Airport remains a military target.”
Yemen’s pro-Iranian Houthi rebels attacked airports and oil refineries on Saudi territory after a coalition that includes Saudi Arabia and Yemeni government forces resumed military operations targeting the Houthis in earnest on the 4th. On the 6th and 7th, missile and drone attacks on Riyadh and Abha airports killed three people and injured 36. On the 8th, two attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport killed three people, including a captain with a Saudi airline. At King Khalid Airport, a follow-up Houthi attack on the 10th killed 12 people, including one American, and injured 309. King Khalid Airport then suspended operations for about two weeks.
Houthi rebel attacks continued on the 25th. Saudi civil defense authorities said they issued emergency alerts for Riyadh, Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, then announced minutes later that the danger had passed.
The Saudi-led coalition said two drones and one ballistic missile had been launched toward Riyadh, one cruise missile had been launched targeting Khamis Mushait, and it had intercepted 10 ballistic missiles launched toward southern areas.
Civil defense authorities said two people were injured in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah by debris from the interception of ballistic missiles, and that residential buildings and vehicles were damaged. The Houthi rebels claimed they had also launched a surprise attack the previous day on King Khalid Airport and the East-West crude oil pipeline, a key energy facility.
 

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