Houthi armed forces renewed a warning on Sunday to airlines, aviation specialists, airport staff, other workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace. The group said those locations were vulnerable to targeting and had become theatres of operations for its forces. It called on the people and businesses it addressed to take the warning seriously. The statement is a threat from an armed group. It is not an aviation authority notice, an airport-closure order or a finding that any particular flight is unsafe.
The group’s statement said it excluded the airports it identified with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. That stated exception does not establish the operational status or safety of any airport. It also does not override instructions from aviation authorities, airlines or airport operators. The warning was issued on 11 October, one day after the attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said the 10 October attack at King Khalid International Airport caused 12 fatalities and injured 309 people, including people in critical condition. The authority said the injured were receiving medical care at several hospitals. It also said the attack caused property damage and that the extent of the damage was being assessed. Those figures are from the civil aviation authority’s follow-up statement, rather than from travel guidance.
In an earlier notice about the same 10 October incident, the civil aviation authority said it had temporarily suspended operations at King Khalid International Airport while damage was assessed and the safety of facilities was checked with relevant bodies. The notice did not give a time for flights to resume. It described a measure at that airport; it did not announce a nationwide closure of Saudi airports or airspace.
The Saudi-led coalition separately attributed the 10 October attack on a passenger terminal to the Houthi militia and said it would respond decisively. That attribution, and the coalition’s planned response, are the coalition’s stated position. The civil aviation authority’s statement confirms casualties and damage at the airport, but it does not independently set out the wider chain of responsibility or the details of every operation claimed by either side.
The US Mission in Saudi Arabia said it was aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport on 10 October and strongly recommended that US citizens avoid the airport and its surrounding area. It said US government employees required special authorisation to use the airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, and urged extreme caution at major airports. Those are US travel and personnel measures. They are not a Saudi government order closing every airport.
The mission also warned US citizens of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruption, and advised them to check departure status directly with their airline and airport. It did not state that cancellations or closures had occurred in every location. Its alert is relevant to travel safety advice, but it is not evidence for each reported attack, interception or operational change elsewhere in the country.
For people due to travel, the documents now describe different things: an armed group’s warning, a temporary measure announced for King Khalid International Airport after the 10 October attack, and advice for US citizens and employees. Passengers should check the status of their own flight and airport immediately before travelling, follow instructions issued by the relevant authorities, and allow for arrangements to change at short notice.
