Riyadh airport suspends operations after source attributes attack to Houthis
Saudi authorities suspended operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, following a missile attack that left multiple people wounded, according to France 24. The incident prompted health officials to issue a mass call-up of emergency room doctors and led several foreign embassies to advise citizens to avoid the facility.
Missile Strikes Prompt Urgent Medical Response and Facility Closure
The civil aviation authority confirmed that the attack injured several people at the sprawling civilian airport. A diplomatic source speaking to France 24 attributed the strike to a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis around 3:00 PM local time. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, seeing a terminal ceiling collapse near a departure gate, and watching panicked passengers flee as at least a dozen ambulances rushed to the scene.
Health officials responded to the crisis by ordering emergency room doctors across the capital to report immediately to hospitals to treat the wounded, many of whom arrived in critical condition.
Aviation Authorities Halt Traffic While Airlines Cancel Schedules
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed that all flights to Riyadh were diverted or canceled following the security breach. Regional carriers, including Kuwait Airways, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, grounded their services to the Saudi capital, with some cancellations extending into Monday.
The facility had already experienced two earlier attacks during the week that left four people dead and damaged an aircraft, exposing vulnerabilities in regional defense systems.
Western Embassies Issue Warnings as Trump Considers Strikes
Foreign governments responded swiftly to the escalating security situation in the Saudi capital. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a strong advisory recommending that all American citizens avoid the airport and surrounding areas. The UK, Irish, and Canadian embassies also issued warnings.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed whether the United States would join Saudi retaliatory strikes against the Iran-backed group. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said. “We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
Saudi-Supported Forces Advance Against Houthi Positions in Yemen
The latest airport attack coincides with a broader military escalation following the July collapse of a four-year, UN-brokered truce in Yemen. While the Houthis did not issue a new formal claim of responsibility for Saturday’s specific strike, the group previously declared Saudi airspace a zone of military operations.
Organizers of upcoming major energy and investment conferences scheduled in Riyadh stated that their events would proceed as planned, offering security reassurances to attendees as transport authorities work to restore normalcy to the kingdom’s primary aviation hub.