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Flights resumed Sunday at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after a two-week closure caused by deadly attacks from Yemen’s Houthis. The group fired fresh missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia the same day, rattling the capital and the kingdom’s south.
The airport’s website listed several domestic and international flights, including arrivals from Dubai, Paris and Cairo.
Saudi officials did not tell AFP how extensive the restarted operations were. Flightradar24 showed that a small number of flights had departed, while the vast majority were cancelled.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said earlier that the airport remained “unsafe” and a “military target.” He warned international, regional and local airlines, as well as staff and travellers, against using it.
“The Saudi regime shall bear the consequences of any operations at the airport,” he said.
The Houthis have struck the airport in waves. One attack this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.
The closure was a major blow for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s flagship investment conference was postponed until 2027, and residents scrambled to find other ways to enter and leave the country.
The Dakar Rally, a prestigious motor sport race, joined a long list of events cancelled, postponed or relocated because of the war.
AFP journalists in Riyadh heard three explosions in the early hours of Sunday.
Residents received alert messages warning of a “hostile aerial threat” and urging them to stay in a safe place.
The Saudi-led coalition said it had downed a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh and two drones in the capital area. “Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward Riyadh,” it said in a post on X.
Later in the morning, it said its forces intercepted a cruise missile fired at the southern city of Khamis Mushait.
Alerts sounded across the south throughout the day, including in Abha, Taif, Namas and Jazan. The coalition said at least 10 ballistic missiles were intercepted.
Saudi civil defence said two people were injured in the south by falling debris, and several buildings and vehicles were damaged. Images released by the Saudi Press Agency showed a building with part of its upper facade destroyed and a street covered in shattered glass.
“The bombardment has been very heavy since this morning, may God keep us safe. Everything is shaking because of the explosions,” a resident of Khamis Mushait told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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The Houthis said they targeted three Saudi airports, including Riyadh’s, as well as energy installations, a pipeline and an air base within 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia leads the military coalition fighting the Iran-backed group, which it has done since intervening in Yemen’s conflict in 2015. It has faced a barrage of Houthi strikes in recent weeks, after a years-long truce between the Houthis and Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government fell apart.
Saudi civil defence also said it responded to falling debris in the Mecca and Medina regions on Saturday after intercepting two Houthi missiles. The Houthis denied targeting the two holiest cities in Islam and called the Saudi claim a “huge lie.”
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