Riyadh Airport Evacuated After Suspected Houthi Strike

More than a dozen ambulances converged on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday after a loud explosion prompted evacuations from sections of the facility.

Passengers described injuries and panic inside the terminal. Airlines canceled services, while flight-tracking data showed widespread disruption to arrivals.

A diplomatic source told AFP that a Houthi missile struck the airport at about 3 p.m. local time.

Saudi authorities had not confirmed another attack, and the Houthis had issued no fresh claim of responsibility.

Witnesses Report Injuries

One passenger waiting in the domestic terminal said the explosion struck near their boarding gate.

“I saw 401 hit, I saw injured in front of my eyes. Everyone was running,” the witness told AFP.

Three witnesses described evacuations. A hospital source told AFP that dozens had been injured, including five patients receiving intensive care.

A relative of one casualty said shattered glass had caused wounds to the person’s shoulders and arms before they were taken to hospital.

Neither the Saudi government’s media office nor the civil aviation authority immediately answered requests for comment.

The accounts of injuries and the alleged missile strike remained unconfirmed by Saudi officials.

Flights Diverted and Canceled

Flightradar24 data showed incoming services to Riyadh being canceled or redirected.

At one point, the site displayed only a helicopter circling above the airport, according to Reuters.

Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways dropped several services connecting Riyadh with their hubs. Some cancellations stretched into Monday.

The airport directed travelers to verify their arrangements before leaving for the terminal.

“Please contact your airline directly and confirm your flight status before heading to the airport,” it said on its official X account.

Several carriers had already curtailed operations following two attacks on the airport earlier in the week. Those incidents killed four people and injured others, while a grounded Saudia aircraft sustained severe damage.

Three of the deaths occurred in Thursday’s Houthi-claimed attacks, including a Saudia pilot.

The disruption comes shortly before major energy and investment conferences in Riyadh. Organizers said Saturday that the events would proceed and assured attendees of their security.

Fighting in Yemen Intensifies

The Houthis have warned airlines away from Saudi airspace, describing it as a military operations zone after Yemen’s Saudi-supported government began an offensive earlier this month.

Military sources told AFP that government troops were advancing around the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a crucial passage for Red Sea oil and commercial shipping.

The government announced last week that its counteroffensive would seek to recover all Houthi-held territory, following the group’s rapid seizure of Yemen’s western coastline.

The Houthis acknowledged assaults around Bab al-Mandeb but said they had defeated them.

Restricted access and rapidly shifting conditions have prevented independent verification of either side’s battlefield claims.

The renewed airport disruption follows repeated Houthi strikes against Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and tankers since a truce with Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government collapsed in July.