A new attack on Riyadh’s international airport killed one person and injured 11 others, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said, deepening concerns over the kingdom’s ability to protect its air hubs.
The latest incident came a day after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for a Saturday strike on the airport that Saudi authorities said killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
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An Irish national caught in the attack said he was “lucky to be alive”.
Saudi-led coalition forces operating in Yemen said an unidentified projectile struck near Terminal 4 at Riyadh’s international airport yesterday, sparking a fire.
Watch: Damage seen in aftermath of attack on Riyadh airport
The coalition said Saudi air defences had also intercepted a cruise missile near King Khalid International Airport.
It later reported that a drone had been intercepted and destroyed in the country’s Eastern Province.
The attacks have highlighted potential gaps in Saudi Arabia’s air defences as the kingdom continues an air campaign against the Houthis, who are fighting Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces on the ground in Yemen.
Saudi state television footage of Saturday’s attack showed dozens of passengers gathered at a gate before travelling to Islam’s two holiest sites.
A sudden orange flash sent people scrambling as panic spread, while sections of the roof appeared to collapse.
The airport was shut following the strike.
Houthis claim responsibility for other attacks
In a televised address yesterday, a Houthi military spokesperson claimed the group had carried out Saturday’s attack and said it had also targeted Dammam airport in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, along with two facilities belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority confirmed the strike on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport late yesterday, saying “damage assessments and safety inspections of airport facilities are under way.”
An eyewitness on board a taxiing aircraft at Dammam said that at about 8.30pm local time (6.30pm Irish time) yesterday, a projectile hit the tarmac beside several parked aircraft and ignited a fire.
The aircraft returned to its gate, the witness said, and passengers were instructed to disembark and leave the airport.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 recorded multiple delays and cancellations yesterday affecting arrivals and departures at Dammam, the kingdom’s third-largest airport.
King Khalid International Airport was closed after the attack
The Houthis had earlier repeated 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.
In a post on X, Britain’s embassy in Saudi Arabia advised British citizens to avoid all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and every airport in the kingdom except Medina.
US aviation authorities separately told American airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia.
‘Worse is yet to come,’ Houthis warn
Saudi Arabia has intensified its military role in Yemen in recent weeks, carrying out strikes against the Houthis and supporting a government counteroffensive after the group captured strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.
The Houthis said yesterday that Saudi Arabia had conducted 124 air strikes in Yemen during the previous 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 broadcast by Al Masirah television.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis in a conflict described as a spillover from the wider war that the US and Israel launched against Iran in February.
In a post on Telegram, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he had told his Saudi counterpart that Iran was prepared to help facilitate talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Energy conference still going ahead
A five-day conference organised by international energy organisation WPC Energy began as scheduled yesterday at a convention centre roughly 10km from Riyadh airport, Saudi Arabia’s 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 took place, according to a media advisory issued by the ministry, although it was unclear which ministers attended.
Italy’s energy minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, whose country was co-hosting the event, had said on Friday that he would take part remotely by video link.
German officials were working to arrange a return flight for economy minister Katherina Reiche.
She had been due to fly back to Berlin from Riyadh today, but the ministry said her flight was likely to be unable to depart.
Separately, Saudi authorities said schools in Riyadh would move to remote learning for in-person classes until Thursday.
Saturday’s strike was the third attack on Riyadh’s airport in a week. Saudi authorities said those killed included four Saudis, while the others were foreign nationals.
India’s embassy in Riyadh said yesterday that one of its citizens injured in the attack had died, raising the initial death toll from 12.
Four people were killed in the two earlier attacks on the airport that week.
One of those strikes also caused extensive damage to a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.
