Houthi Strikes on Riyadh Airport Kill Three as Yemen War Spills Into Saudi Arabia

Three people were killed in missile attacks on Riyadh's airport on Thursday, Saudi authorities said on Friday, as Yemen's Houthi movement intensified its campaign against the kingdom and threatened to close its airspace.

The strikes also wounded several people, damaged a Saudia Airlines aircraft and sent smoke over the airport. Many airlines cancelled flights to the Saudi capital as a result, just days before Riyadh is due to host a major gathering of the global oil industry. Saudia said one of the dead was a member of its staff.

By Friday, Saudi civil aviation authorities said air traffic at Riyadh airport had returned to normal. Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed flights gradually resuming, including some operated by regional carriers, though many cancellations and delays remained.

Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa

Houthi officials and affiliated media said Saudi aircraft struck targets in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, overnight. The raids are part of a widening air campaign against the Iran-aligned group, which Saudi Arabia and its allies say is aimed at reversing the Houthis' recent territorial gains and ending their attacks on shipping and on the kingdom.

A Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government said it had destroyed three missile launch platforms used by the Houthis. It warned that it would respond firmly to any attacks on civilians.

Earlier this week, Houthi strikes on airports in Saudi Arabia had already killed three people, according to the report.

Fighting on the ground in Yemen

Yemen has quickly become the most intense front in a broader regional conflict that began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. The fighting carries significant consequences for global energy markets. The Houthis have fired on vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while Iran has partly blocked the Strait of Hormuz, tightening Gulf oil supplies further.

Last month, the Houthis advanced rapidly down Yemen's Red Sea coast and took full control of the coastline around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That push drew Saudi Arabia back into a conflict that had been largely dormant, and the kingdom began backing a government counteroffensive.

Government forces recaptured territory around the Bab el-Mandeb coast on Monday after heavy Saudi airstrikes, and fighting there continues. On Friday, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen, who has handled the kingdom's involvement in the country for more than a decade, said in a social media post that the area had been cleared of Houthi forces. Reuters said it could not verify the claim. Houthi fighters remain in Mocha, farther up the coast, and government troops are now concentrating on a battle in the surrounding hills.

Around Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, the Houthis have encircled government forces. The city has more than half a million residents and a garrison of thousands of pro-government fighters. Houthi advances in mountain districts have also severed a key road into Taiz.

Threats to Saudi airspace

The Houthis have announced repeated waves of ballistic missile fire at Saudi Arabia. They have said they intend to shut down Saudi airspace and have warned workers at oil facilities that those sites could also be targeted. On Friday, the group repeated its threats against aircraft flying over the kingdom, excluding the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and described Saudi airspace as a theatre of operations for its missile forces.

Aviation authorities have responded. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency extended the area in which it advises airlines not to fly, citing the recent attacks on Riyadh airport and the risk to civil aviation. The aviation risk advisory body OPSGROUP also advised against flying over the kingdom.

The US embassy in the United Arab Emirates urged Americans to exercise increased vigilance, pointing to Houthi attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and warning that hostilities could escalate quickly.

Saudi Arabia is also seeking help from Pakistan and Turkey, its partners in a mutual defence pact, to counter the Houthi attacks. It has pressed other allies for wider support in rolling back the group's gains inside Yemen.

Oil congress approaches

Riyadh is due to host the WPC Energy Congress from Sunday, a major meeting of oil ministers, government officials and energy company executives. The event was still being promoted on Friday. Italian energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said he would take part by video rather than attend in person, without giving a reason.