Riyadh Airport Stays Closed for Second Day Following Houthi Rebel Strikes

Operations at Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remain suspended for a second consecutive day on Monday following drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The General Authority of Civil Aviation has not yet clarified when normal flight operations will resume at the facility. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reports that about 60 per cent of scheduled flights at the Riyadh airport are set to be cancelled for Monday. This follows a near-total shutdown on Sunday when the airport cancelled 99.7 per cent of its scheduled flights due to the initial assault. Data shows that more than one-third of all total flights scheduled across Saudi Arabia are not expected to operate today. Meanwhile, flight tracking site Flightradar24 estimates that cancellations at the Riyadh hub will hover around 78 per cent. The fresh disruption stems from airstrikes over the weekend. Sunday's attacks left at least one person dead and a dozen others injured, coming just a day after a prior strike on the airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. The cascading security crisis has forced major international and domestic carriers to halt services. Germany's Lufthansa Group suspended its Riyadh flights through October 16, while Indian carrier Indigo cancelled services until October 9. Air India and Akasa Air also previously halted flights to the Saudi capital until October 10.

Global Reaction

The widespread disruption prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to issue a warning on Sunday urging American airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. Shortly after the Saturday attack, US President Donald Trump stated that his administration is evaluating whether the United States should join Saudi forces in striking the Houthi rebel group.

Context

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh serves as the second busiest aviation hub in Saudi Arabia, making any extended closure a major bottleneck for regional and international travel. The Houthi movement, based in Yemen, has frequently targeted infrastructure in neighboring countries amid the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East. Such prolonged airspace shutdowns typically cause severe logistical backlogs for global airlines and thousands of stranded passengers worldwide.