Riyadh Airport to Stay Shut Until October 17 as Saudi Air Defences Intercept Three Houthi Missiles and Airlines Suspend Flights

RIYADH: King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh will remain closed until October 17, while the Saudi-led military coalition says it has intercepted three ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis.

Closure extended

According to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority, airport operations remain suspended so that procedures to ensure the safety and operational readiness of the airport’s facilities can be completed. A Notice to Airmen shows the airport will stay closed until 2100 GMT on October 17. The airport has been shut since an attack on Saturday that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, followed by another attack on Sunday that killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others.

Three missiles intercepted

Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said one ballistic missile was fired towards Riyadh on Monday and two more towards the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait, and that all three were intercepted and destroyed. The Houthis said they had targeted King Khalid International Airport and also claimed a drone attack on an airbase in Khamis Mushait, a claim Saudi authorities have not confirmed.

Airlines suspend flights

Major airlines have suspended services to Saudi Arabia amid the situation. India’s IndiGo has cancelled flights to and from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah until October 17; Lufthansa has suspended its Riyadh services until October 16 and Air France-KLM until the end of October; Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have also halted several Saudi routes; and US carrier Delta Air Lines has postponed its planned Atlanta-Riyadh launch from October 23 to March 2027. Aviation analytics firm Cirium says cancellations across Saudi airports have reached 46.4 per cent.