Houthi attacks on Saudi airports cause flight disruptions and event postponements

The Houthis attacked Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Tuesday and Wednesday. Earlier reports said the attacks killed 3 people and injured 36; later reports said the October 10 attack killed at least 12 people and injured 309, with the dead including four Saudi citizens and one each from Bangladesh, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan; the injured were all receiving treatment in hospitals, some in critical condition, and property damage was still being assessed. The terminal was hit again on October 11, killing 1 person and injuring 11. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation announced an extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport, closing it until midnight Saudi local time on October 18, and it has not been confirmed whether commercial flights can resume by then. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 312 of the 1,194 flights departing Saudi Arabia on Thursday were canceled or did not take off, more than a quarter of the total; later reports said one-third of Saudi flights were canceled and several high-profile events were postponed. Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, explicitly listing Saudi airports and airspace as targets and warning international airlines and travelers to stay away. Delta Air Lines had planned to launch a direct Atlanta-Riyadh route on October 23, but said on Monday it would delay the launch until March 2027 because of the successive attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia, citing military activity and navigation system interference, and said the threat could affect all altitude phases including overflight, approach and departure. Saudi airlines have resumed service, but the confidence needed by international airlines and event organizers has not been restored. Travel industry executives said corporate travel to Saudi Arabia has been almost entirely suspended, few inbound and outbound flights are still operating, travelers already there are leaving by land via Bahrain or Dammam, and most Umrah pilgrims are also abandoning flights for road travel. The latest reports say the attacks have affected Gulf tourism, with hotels and tour operators in the UAE and Oman reporting softer forward bookings and more security inquiries, but available hard data show the two countries are far less affected than Saudi Arabia.