Flights suspended after the deadliest attack in a decade
The Oct 10 strike on Riyadh's international airport killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, Saudi authorities said. Officials called it the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade. It was the third strike on the airport, which serves a city of roughly 8 million people, and operations there were suspended.
Houthi fighters in Yemen claimed responsibility for the first attack. A day later, on Oct 11, the group said it had carried out fresh strikes on the airport. Assessment teams worked through the night to check damage to terminals and parked aircraft.
Group says airports are 'a theatre of operations'
The Iran-backed group claimed several attacks inside a 24-hour window and said it would keep targeting the kingdom's transit hubs, describing them as "a theatre of operations for our forces". Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's internationally recognised government in the war against the Houthis, and the strikes mark a sharp escalation in that conflict.
President Donald Trump said the United States could join Saudi Arabia's retaliation. "We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We move very quickly," he said.
Fallout for business and tourism plans
The timing hurts Riyadh's effort to present itself as a destination for conferences, business travel and tourism. A large energy conference was set to open in the capital this week, and analysts expect delegates to ask how well the kingdom can defend itself.
Airport and nearby office staff were told to stay away while damage was assessed. Carriers have not said when normal service resumes, and some flights are being routed through other Gulf hubs in the meantime.
The Houthis have attacked shipping in the Red Sea for the past three years, pushing many container lines onto the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope. A campaign aimed directly at Saudi airports would open a second front, and insurers have flagged the risk of higher premiums on Gulf air and sea routes.