ع
A loud blast rang out at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday prompting the immediate evacuation of travellers from sections of the terminal while more than a dozen ambulances raced to the scene an eyewitness told Reuters. Flight tracking services showed every incoming flight either diverted or cancelled with only a helicopter visible overhead at one stage and the airport directed passengers to verify their status with carriers before arriving. The development marks the latest disruption at the Saudi capital’s main gateway amid an escalation of cross-border strikes that have already forced major carriers to suspend operations for several days.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation reported that two attacks on the airport the previous Thursday killed three Saudi nationals including a pilot and wounded a number of citizens and residents of other nationalities with injuries ranging from minor to severe. The authority’s statement on X indicated the first strike hit airport infrastructure while the second damaged a Saudia aircraft parked on the ground without passengers aboard. Saudia confirmed the death of Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami describing the loss as a source of profound sadness in its own announcement and noted that normal operations resumed by evening though knock-on effects lingered.
The Thursday casualties followed an earlier pair of strikes on October 6 and 7 that claimed three additional lives according to the same civil aviation body. One Sudanese national died with eight others hurt at the Riyadh facility while two women one Moroccan and one Algerian were killed with 28 injured at Abha International Airport in the southwest. At least three more people suffered wounds in strikes on facilities in Jazan and Najran near the Yemeni border Al Jazeera reported citing the authority’s updates.
Yemen’s Houthis asserted they launched ballistic missiles at the Riyadh airport on Thursday as well as at Najran and the Khamis Mushait airbase Reuters reported from the group’s statements. The Iran-aligned movement has framed the assaults as retaliation for Saudi backing of Yemen’s recognised government in renewed fighting along the Red Sea coast. Saudi officials have verified the death toll from the strikes but stopped short of confirming every Houthi targeting claim across the week.
Nearly 45 percent of scheduled departures from the airport were cancelled or grounded on Thursday according to data compiled by aviation analytics firm Cirium. Carriers including Air India IndiGo Etihad Airways Qatar Airways and the Lufthansa Group subsequently suspended services to and from Riyadh with some cancellations stretching into the middle of next week Khaleej Times reported drawing on airline notifications. Flightradar24 data on Saturday reinforced the scale of the halt showing complete cessation of commercial arrivals after the latest blast.
The string of incidents at the airport has compounded security measures across Saudi aviation hubs with new fencing observed around fuel depots in recent weeks according to visual reporting by The Guardian. The kingdom participates in a coalition supporting Yemeni government efforts to reclaim territory from the Houthis whose advances have drawn increased aerial responses. Regional diplomatic sources told AFP the Saturday event appeared consistent with the pattern of missile activity though Saudi authorities had not issued an immediate official assessment.
