King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh came under attack again on the 11th, leaving more than 10 people dead or injured, just one day after a missile strike by Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels killed or wounded about 320 people.
An unidentified projectile struck Terminal 4 of King Khalid International Airport and set off a fire, according to the Saudi-led coalition. The General Authority of Civil Aviation said one Pakistani national was killed and 11 others were injured in the attack.
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement that the group had carried out four operations over the previous 24 hours using ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, in response to Saudi aggression. Saree said Saudi Arabia had conducted 124 airstrikes over the same period and that the rebels had retaliated, claiming they precisely struck Aramco's Shugadam gas facility and the Tanajib refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia and caused large fires.
With civilian airports and aircraft now being targeted, Saudi air traffic linking Europe and Asia has been paralyzed. The Wall Street Journal reported that airlines using Saudi airports canceled about 1,000 flights and diverted dozens of others to alternative airports. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration urged extreme caution for flights transiting Saudi airspace through Dec. 10, while France, Canada and Germany warned their carriers that flying over all or much of Saudi Arabia was no longer safe.
Some airlines are now detouring along Central Asian routes through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. But those routes also pass over Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, making safety difficult to guarantee.