Why Are the Houthis Striking Saudi Arabia's Airports?
Al Jazeera Staff
Houthi attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and other Saudi airports mark the deadliest assault on the kingdom in more than a decade, as Yemen's conflict escalates following the collapse of a UN-brokered ceasefire. The strikes have disrupted civil aviation, emptied Riyadh's skies and prompted international airlines and governments to warn against travel to the Saudi capital.
Yemen's Houthi forces have claimed responsibility for an attack on Sunday that killed one person and wounded nearly a dozen at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, just a day after another strike killed 13 people and injured more than 300. It is one of the most serious disruptions to Saudi civil aviation in years and the deadliest attack on the kingdom's territory in over a decade.
The sharp escalation comes amid fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-supported Yemeni government forces, after a UN-mediated ceasefire — largely upheld since 2022 — collapsed.
Saudi airports hit by Houthi attacks
- King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh: The Saudi capital's airport has been attacked four times in the past five days. Saudi authorities said one person was killed and eight wounded on October 7. The next day, an airstrike killed an airline pilot and two other Saudi citizens, with others wounded.
- King Fahd International Airport in Dammam: The Houthis claimed an attack on the airport in Dammam, the industrial port city on the Gulf coast, on Sunday.
- Abha International Airport: On October 7, two people were killed and 28 wounded in an attack on facilities at the airport, according to the civil aviation authority.
- King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan: On October 6, Saudi authorities reported attacks on the southern airport that wounded three people.
- Najran Airport: The same day, Saudi authorities said Najran airport was hit and reported minor injuries.
Have Yemeni forces attacked Houthi-controlled airports?
Yes. Houthi-run media on Sunday reported "Saudi" airstrikes on areas of Yemen's capital Sanaa, which the Iran-backed armed group controls.
The reports said the strikes targeted the airport road area in Sanaa's al-Thawra district, as well as Hamdan district. There was no information on the outcome of the attacks.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces also struck Sanaa airport on July 13 with at least five types of weapons in a series of airstrikes, three of which hit the only remaining operational runway directly.
The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and parts of northwestern Yemen since 2014. Fighting is raging around the southern cities of Mocha and Dhubab, on the Red Sea coast, which are strategically important for control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
This key maritime chokepoint has become a vital alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks have raised costs and risks for tanker operators.
Why are the Houthis attacking Saudi airports?
The attacks have left the skies over the Saudi capital Riyadh empty, as authorities extended the suspension of operations at the city's international airport — the kingdom's second-busiest after Jeddah.
Lufthansa has cancelled all flights to Riyadh until October 16, while Air France-KLM extended its suspension of services to and from the Saudi capital until the end of the month. Britain, France and Germany have warned their citizens to avoid travelling to Riyadh.
The disruption comes as the country hosts two major energy and investment conferences. Organisers of the World Petroleum Congress (WPC), expected to bring together leading global oil executives and policymakers from Sunday to Thursday, said the event would go ahead as planned. The Future Investment Initiative, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a decade ago as the kingdom's flagship investment conference, will also proceed as scheduled from October 26 to 29.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the WPC that the kingdom's resilience had been tested, but sought to reassure summit participants that its response would be "equally serious".
The kingdom, which is preparing to host the 2032 FIFA World Cup, has long sought to promote itself as a safe destination for major events, global tourism and investment.
Hisham al-Omeisy, a conflict analyst and adviser at the European Peace Institute, predicted the Houthis would escalate attacks to include oil pipelines and energy facilities — and continue striking airports because of the strong "public reaction" to hitting such targets.
"The Houthis have escalated significantly, they have crossed that line... they have their own framework and calculations, and stopping at attacking a civilian airport is not part of those calculations," al-Omeisy told Al Jazeera.
"They are a maximalist group and they are there to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals," the analyst said, including "more concessions from the Saudi side".
Why are Yemeni forces attacking Houthi-controlled airports?
Yemen's capital has the only airport offering international flights to and from Houthi-controlled territory, where most of Yemen's population lives.
Houthi-run radio also reported attacks on Thursday on Hodeidah International Airport on the Red Sea coast, without specifying the extent of the damage.
Yemen's representative to the United Nations claimed these airports are being used to fly Houthi delegations to and from Iran, the group's backer. According to the Yemeni government, the strikes hit airport infrastructure to prevent Iranian flights from landing there.
