Riyadh Airport Reopens After Two-Week Houthi Shutdown — But Houthis Warn It Is 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, with flight-tracking data showing a plane taking off early in the morning bound for Jeddah. The airport said Terminal 1 will handle domestic flights and Terminal 2 international flights operated by national carriers, and urged passengers with confirmed bookings to check with their airlines before travelling.
The reopening comes after a wave of Houthi attacks that followed the breakdown of a years-long truce in the summer. The group has struck the airport repeatedly, including an attack this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300 — the deadliest in the kingdom in over a decade. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned airlines and travellers that the airport remains unsafe and a military target, saying the Saudi regime would bear the consequences of operating there.
Tensions stayed high even as flights returned: the Saudi-led coalition said early on Sunday that it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area and intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the capital, while three explosions were heard in the city. Air India and Air India Express have suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam until November 7, and to Jeddah until October 31, as the wider US-Iran confrontation continues to spill over into Gulf air travel.
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