A new strike on Riyadh’s international airport has left one person dead and 11 others injured, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said, underscoring the growing risks around one of the kingdom’s busiest transport hubs.
Yesterday, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for a Saturday strike on the airport that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300 others.
An Irish national, who was caught up in the attack, said he was “lucky to be alive”.
Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen said an unidentified projectile had targeted Riyadh’s international airport Terminal 4 yesterday, sparking a fire.
The Saudi civil aviation authority said it was still assessing the damage.
Watch: Damage seen in aftermath of attack on Riyadh airport
The coalition forces also said Saudi air defences had intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport.
They later added that a drone had been intercepted and destroyed in the country’s Eastern Province.
The latest strikes have highlighted vulnerabilities in Saudi defence capabilities as the kingdom presses ahead with an air campaign against the Houthis, who are simultaneously waging a ground war in Yemen against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
Video broadcast by Saudi state television from Saturday’s attack showed crowds lined up at a gate, preparing to travel to Islam’s two holiest sites.
Moments later, a bright orange flash lit up the scene, triggering panic as people ran and parts of the roof appeared to buckle.
The airport was closed after the attack.
Houthis claim responsibility for other attacks
In a televised speech yesterday, a Houthi military spokesperson claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack and said the group had struck the airport in Dammam in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and two facilities of Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco.
The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed the strike on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport late yesterday, adding that “damage assessments and safety inspections of airport facilities are under way.”
An eyewitness aboard a taxiing aircraft at Dammam said that around 8.30pm local time (6.30pm Irish time) yesterday, they saw a projectile hit the tarmac beside several parked aircraft, igniting a fire.
The witness said the aircraft turned back to the gate. Passengers got off and were instructed to leave.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed several delays and cancellations yesterday for arrivals and departures at Dammam airport, the kingdom’s third-largest.
King Khalid International Airport was closed after the attack
The Houthis earlier had renewed their warning against using Saudi airports.
“We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions,” the group said.
Britain’s embassy in Saudi Arabia in a post on X advised British citizens against all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and all airports in the kingdom except the airport in Medina.
US aviation authorities issued a notice to US airlines to use caution while flying to or over the kingdom.
‘Worse is yet to come,’ Houthis warn
Saudi Arabia has recently expanded its military involvement in Yemen, launching strikes against the Houthis and supporting a government counter-offensive after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.
The Houthis said yesterday that Saudi Arabia carried out 124 air strikes in Yemen in the past 24 hours.
“Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing,” Yemen’s Houthi-run foreign ministry said in statements carried by Al Masirah television.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis in the conflict, a spillover from the wider war with Iran that the US and Israel launched in February.
In a post on Telegram, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he told his Saudi counterpart that Iran was ready to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Energy conference still going ahead
A five-day conference of international energy organisation WPC Energy opened as scheduled yesterday at a convention centre about 10km from the Riyadh airport, the Saudi energy ministry said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was ready to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen
A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum also proceeded, according to a media advisory from the ministry. It was not clear which ministers attended.
Italy’s energy minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, whose country was co-hosting, had said on Friday he would take part remotely via video link.
German officials were trying to arrange a return flight for economy minister Katherina Reiche.
She was due to fly back to Berlin from Riyadh today, but the ministry said it appeared likely her flight would be unable to depart.
Separately, Saudi authorities announced that in-person classes at schools in Riyadh would be shifted to remote learning until Thursday.
Saudi authorities said Saturday’s strike — the third on Riyadh’s airport in a week — killed four Saudis, with the remaining fatalities foreign nationals.
India’s embassy in Riyadh said yesterday one of its citizens injured in the attack had died, raising the initial death toll of 12 to 13.
Four people were killed in the two previous attacks on the airport earlier in the week.
One attack also caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac.
