Saudi Arabia: Riyadh airport reopens after two weeks closed, under Houthi threat and with limited flights

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport resumed flights on Sunday after a two-week closure caused by attacks by Yemen's Houthis on the Saudi capital, although the group warned that the terminal remains a military target.

According to AFP, the airport announced on Saturday that Terminal 1 would handle domestic flights and Terminal 2 international flights operated by national carriers, effective Sunday, October 25. Monitoring site Flightradar24 showed a plane taking off from Riyadh early on Sunday bound for Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast.

The Houthis have launched waves of strikes on Riyadh's airport, including one this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, according to AFP. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned airlines, staff and travelers not to use the airport because, he said, it is 'unsafe' and a 'military target.'

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said on Sunday that it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area, a sign that the reopening does not mean the threat has ended. Other reports indicate that most foreign airlines are keeping their flights to the Saudi capital suspended, so traffic remains limited.

The escalation is part of a wave of Houthi attacks in recent weeks, after a truce that had held for years broke down in the summer. The conflict has shifted the focus of the wider U.S.-Iran war and deepened the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries.

For travelers, the practical message is to check each flight directly with the airline: reopening two terminals is a step toward normality, but it does not yet guarantee full operations or stable schedules.

Photo: Archivo A Lo Claro

Source: TBS News / AFP