Saudi Arabia's Main Airport Shut Down as Houthi Attacks Disrupt Middle East Travel

Operations at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport have been suspended and the closure extended, following a series of dangerous attacks by Yemen's armed Houthi group on the airport, disrupting travel across the Middle East. In response, a large number of airlines across the Arab region have suspended flights to Saudi Arabia's second-busiest airport. In an attack last week targeting the airport's passenger terminal, 13 people were killed and 309 people were injured. The following day, an attack targeting Terminal 4 killed a Pakistani national and injured 11 more people. The Saudi-led military coalition described the October 10 attack as a "war crime." Saudi authorities announced that, in order to ensure the safety of the airport's facilities, operations at the airport were suspended from the night of October 17 until 21:00 Saudi time, or until further notice. With this decision, around 700 flights a day will be affected. In connection with the airport closure, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways have suspended flights to Riyadh. In addition, Etihad Airways has halted some of its flights from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, while EgyptAir has also suspended flights to Riyadh from Cairo and Alexandria. Since October 5, the Houthis have carried out 10 attacks on five Saudi airports. Statistics researched by Anadolu Agency show that these attacks killed a total of 20 people and injured several hundred, among the attacks recorded in the military confrontations ongoing between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis since July.