Saudi authorities on Monday (October 12, 2026) extended the suspension of operations at Riyadh’s international airport following a series of deadly Houthi attacks.

Strikes on the airport last week killed at least 18 people, including 13 on Saturday (October 10) in the deadliest attack on the country in more than a decade, which also left hundreds wounded.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation in a statement “announced the extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport”.

It said the extension was needed to “complete the necessary procedures to verify the safety of the facilities and their operational readiness”.

The authority did not specify when operations would resume.

A senior aviation source who oversees flights to the Gulf for an airline said operations would be halted for the remainder of the working week in Saudi Arabia, according to messages sent to the carrier on Monday (October 12) from Saudi aviation authorities.

“They told us it would be until at least Thursday (October 15). There are no flights until the end of the week,” the source told AFP.

A senior official from the Riyadh Metro also told AFP that authorities had suspended transport services to three stations serving the airport.

Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition said early on ‌Saturday (September 26, 2026) it had intercepted ​two drones launched ⁠by the Iran-backed Houthis towards the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The coalition posted ‌on X that it was monitoring missile threat ‌and drones launched ‌at ⁠the Kingdom without providing further ⁠details.

The Saudi civil defence had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait ​and Abha ‌but not for the capital.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of ‌Yemen and much of the ​north, have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia ⁠since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with ‌strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, adding to pressures ‌on global oil supplies caused by ​the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and putting at risk ⁠the main alternative Red Sea ⁠route for Gulf exports while traffic through the ‌Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday (September 19, 2026) confirmed that Yemen’s Houthi rebels tried to attack its capital with a ballistic missile, the first targeting of Riyadh since the escalation in fighting with the Tehran-backed rebels that has opened a new front in the Iran war.

The statement by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis came long after the dawn attempt, which the coalition said was intercepted. Some residents in Riyadh heard an explosion.

Later, some saw a plume of smoke near the airport. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

The statement also said the Houthis tried to attack civilian infrastructure in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu — where a key Saudi pipeline ends — and in Taif, Baysh and Farasan, but they were thwarted, giving no further details.

The Houthis earlier claimed, without providing evidence, that they had targeted “sensitive sites” in Riyadh and facilities of Saudi oil giant Aramco in Yanbu, causing “massive fires”.

Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, did not respond to a request for comment.

The growing conflict near another important global shipping corridor has brought new pressures for markets.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed they attacked with cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones.

He said Saudi Arabia had attempted to target the rebel-held city of Sanaa in neighbouring Yemen, without giving details. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims.

Recent days have seen one escalation after another. On Thursday (September 17), the first civilian casualty was reported, as the Saudi civil defence said debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed a Yemeni resident of Saudi Arabia.

And on Wednesday (September 16), Saudi Arabia said the Houthis had tried to attack Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, with a drone that it said was intercepted, calling the security of the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad a “red line”. The Houthis fiercely denied the accusation.

The United States, a close Saudi ally, has signalled that it has no current fight with the Houthis. Regional officials have told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has instead asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt for air defence support.

Meanwhile, fighting has surged inside Yemen between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government.

The rebels raced down the country’s Red Sea coast over a week ago, seizing the key port city of Mokha and islands on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.

That has improved their surveillance of passing ships, though the Houthis have said they are only targeting Saudi ones.

The fighting in Yemen also marks a return to a devastating civil war after four years of relative calm.