Riyadh airport reopening faces turbulence as Houthis claim new strikes

Flights to and from Riyadh proceeded haltingly on Monday, a day after Saudi Arabia reopened King Khalid International Airport following a roughly two-week closure caused by Houthi attacks. The cautious restart continued even as the Yemeni rebel group claimed a fresh strike on the airport.

What happened: At 6:40 p.m. local time, a Flyadeal flight departed Riyadh for Medina, roughly an hour after another Flyadeal service from Dammam landed at King Khalid International Airport. The two flights operated by the Saudi budget carrier offered a snapshot of a reopening that remained far from normal, with only a trickle of aircraft arriving or departing despite a much larger published schedule of domestic and international services.

Most other flights listed for Monday remained marked as scheduled or canceled on flight-tracking websites. Before landing, the Dammam flight circled for some time northwest of the capital, while flight-tracking data showed the skies around Riyadh were otherwise largely empty.

The limited activity came hours after Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had struck King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, alongside attacks on crude oil pumping stations. Saudi authorities didn’t confirm either strike, and a handful of flights continued operating cautiously through the day. Just before 7:00 p.m. local time, the Saudi Press Agency reported that three drones were intercepted and destroyed in Riyadh and in the southern regions.