Houthi Strike on Riyadh Airport Kills Three, Including Pilot — SkimNews
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- Houthi strikes on October 8 hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia aircraft on the ground, killing three Saudi citizens including Capt. Hamoud Ali Alkalthami of the Saudia Group and wounding "people of different nationalities."
- The attacks were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces launched a major military offensive against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels the previous weekend.
- At least 124 flights to and from Riyadh were cancelled by Friday afternoon after hundreds more were cancelled on Thursday (per FlightAware), prompting Air India to suspend through Saturday, Lufthansa Group airlines through October 16, and Pakistan International Airlines to also halt service.
- The EU Aviation Safety Agency expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, warning of the Houthis' ability to strike deeper inside the kingdom and that "recurrent missile and drone attacks" increase the risk of misidentification of civil aircraft and falling debris.
- The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed three Houthi rocket launch platforms, while Houthi officials reported overnight coalition strikes on Sanaa injured six people including a child—a toll Saudi authorities did not confirm.
- Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohamed al-Jabir claimed on X that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait had been "cleansed" of Houthi remnants, as Pakistan said it is making military capabilities available to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
- President Donald Trump has shown reluctance to expand U.S. military involvement in West Asia and has not ordered American forces to resume strikes against the Houthis, despite U.S. intelligence sharing and target support for the Saudi offensive.
Why it matters: The Riyadh strike is the first confirmed Houthi attack on the Saudia national carrier and the deadliest Saudi casualties since the new offensive began, forcing Air India, Lufthansa Group, and PIA to suspend flights and triggering expanded EASA airspace warnings—evidence the Houthi threat has reached Saudi aviation infrastructure even as Trump declines to resume U.S. strikes and the coalition claims progress in the Bab el-Mandeb.
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