An air traffic control tower is seen at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sept. 19, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Saudi Arabia has extended the closure of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport through Oct. 17 following repeated Houthi attacks, as airlines suspended flights to several Saudi cities.
An aviation notice issued on Oct. 12 extended the shutdown to allow safety and operational checks.
Attacks on the airport have killed at least 18 people over the past week.
Qatar Airways suspended services to Riyadh and Dammam, while Etihad Airways canceled flights linking Abu Dhabi with Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.
Etihad said its Riyadh services would remain suspended until Oct. 19.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Oct. 12 that the Houthis were “misbehaving very badly.”
He confirmed that he had spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman but gave no details of the call.
Late on Oct. 12, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh. The Houthis said they had targeted the airport.
Houthi political official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti warned of a “swift and painful response” targeting the United States and its interests in the region if Washington entered the Yemen war.
In Yemen, Houthi attacks in Taiz province killed five civilians and wounded 17 over the previous 24 hours, the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms said on Oct. 13.
In a report carried by Yemen’s government-run Saba news agency, the group said a five-year-old girl was among those killed when shelling struck her family home in al-Misrakh district.
The group said Houthi forces had fired more than 180 projectiles at residential areas and carried out drone attacks.
It reported damage to homes, vehicles, al-Safwa Hospital and al-Saeed Mosque in Taiz city.
