Riyadh airport partly reopens as Houthis threaten more attacks

Saudi Arabia reported on Sunday that two terminals at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had reopened. The reopening came despite threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis to keep targeting the airport, which they have described as a military target.

Operations at the airport were suspended on October 10 after an attack claimed by the Houthis left 13 people dead. According to The Independent, it was the deadliest attack on the kingdom in more than a decade.

Late on Saturday, the airport announced that Terminal 1 would handle domestic flights and Terminal 2 would handle international flights operated by national carriers, starting Sunday. Even so, data from Flightradar24 showed little traffic at the airport on Sunday.

After the partial reopening, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the airport would never be safe. He urged airlines, airport staff and travellers not to use it.

Riyadh said it intercepted another barrage of drones and missiles on Sunday. The Saudi-led coalition said two drones and a ballistic missile were launched toward Riyadh and a cruise missile toward Khamis Mushait, and later said it intercepted 10 ballistic missiles fired toward southern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi civil defense said shrapnel from two intercepted ballistic missiles over Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah injured two people and damaged homes and vehicles. Emergency alerts were issued for Riyadh, Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, and minutes later authorities said the danger had passed.

The Houthis said they targeted the Riyadh airport, along with sites including Jazan and Khamis Mushait, and said they attacked Saudi oil facilities on Saturday. Saudi authorities did not comment directly on those statements, and it is unconfirmed whether the Houthi claims matched the strikes Riyadh said it intercepted.

The coalition said earlier this month that the Houthis carried out 20 attacks on the airport between October 1 and 11. Saudi Arabia has stepped up strikes on the group after it seized territory along the Red Sea coast last month, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The fighting has broken a UN-brokered truce that had largely held since 2022.