Flights resumed at Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday following a series of deadly attacks on the facility that saw it closed for two weeks, even as Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted the country with strikes.
King Khalid International Airport’s website showed several domestic and international flights scheduled on Sunday, including arrivals to the kingdom from Dubai, Paris and Cairo.
The renewed operations at the airport came as explosions rattled Riyadh early Sunday, after a text message was sent to residents warning of a hostile threat targeting the city.
Alerts warning of possible attacks were activated across the kingdom’s south throughout the day, with the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis saying at least 10 ballistic missiles were intercepted.
Saudi officials did not provide additional information when asked by AFP about the scope of the renewed operations at the airport.
But the tracking website Flightradar24 showed a small number of flights had departed, though the vast majority were cancelled.
Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition fighting the Houthis, has faced a barrage of strikes from the group in recent weeks.
The fighting erupted after a years-long truce between the Houthis and Yemen’s government fell apart.
The Houthi fighters have carried out waves of strikes on the airport, including an attack this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.
The group has also targeted oil infrastructure and other sites.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree earlier warned that Riyadh airport was still “unsafe” and a “military target”.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces warn all international, regional and local airlines — as well as staff and travellers — against using King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, as it is unsafe and serves as a military target for our forces,” he said.
“The Saudi regime shall bear the consequences of any operations at the airport.”
Later on Sunday, Saree said Saudi Arabia had struck Yemen dozens of times over the previous 24 hours.
“During the past 24 hours, Saudi warplanes launched 56 airstrikes and missiles targeting civilian objects in the governorates of Hajjah, Lahj, Amran, Saada, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Ibb using F-15 and “Typhoon” planes that took off from the bases of Khamis Mushait and Taif, and missiles from Najran,” he said on X.
Attack warning
As the airport prepared to open, AFP journalists in Riyadh heard three explosions in the early hours of Sunday, with residents receiving alert messages for a “hostile aerial threat” urging them to stay in a safe place.
The warning came as the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had downed a ballistic missile launched by the group towards the capital, as well as two drones in the capital area.
“Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward Riyadh,” the coalition posted on X.
Later on Sunday morning, the coalition said its forces intercepted a cruise missile fired by the Houthis at the kingdom’s southern city of Khamis Mushait.
Attacks appeared to target areas across the south, with warnings also issued for Abha city along with areas in Taif, Namas and Jazan.
“The bombardment has been very heavy since this morning — may God keep us safe. Everything is shaking because of the explosions,” one resident in Khamis Mushait told AFP on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
The attacks came after the Houthi fighters said that — in the space of 24 hours — they targeted three Saudi airports, including in Riyadh, energy installations, a pipeline and an air base.
The Saudi civil defence agency said it had also responded to falling debris in the Makkah and Madina regions on Saturday after intercepting two Houthi missiles.
The Houthis denied targeting the cities, the two holiest in Islam, calling the Saudi claim a “huge lie”.
The Houthis also fired at the southern Yemeni city of Aden, the interim seat of the government, saying they targeted a naval base and military camp overseen by Saudi forces.
The flare-up in Yemen, with the Houthis taking control of the entire Red Sea coast in a lightning offensive last month, has further destabilised the region and disrupted oil markets.
The Houthi attacks have impacted Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of crude, disrupting businesses, airlines and residents.