RIYADH: Riyadh’s international airport said flights would resume on Sunday after a two-week closure following strikes from Yemen’s Houthis on the Saudi capital, though the Iran-backed group warned of more to come.
The Flight Radar monitoring site showed a plane taking off from Riyadh airport early Sunday, heading to the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia, along with Yemen’s internationally recognised government that it backs, has faced a wave of Houthi attacks in recent weeks after a years-long truce broke down in the summer.
The fighting has shifted the focus of the wider US-Iran war and deepened a humanitarian disaster crippling Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries.
“Please be advised that Terminal (1) will be designated for domestic flights and Terminal (2) for international flights operated by national carriers at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, effective Sunday, October 25, 2026,” King Khalid International Airport posted on X on Saturday.
The Houthis have carried out waves of strikes on Riyadh’s 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.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned that the 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.”
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said early Sunday it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area.