Attacks on two Saudi Arabian airports on Oct. 6 and 7 killed three people and injured 36, the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said Oct. 7, and Yemen’s Houthis claimed both strikes.
The toll is the deadliest reported so far in a new round of Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure, and it fell on workers and travellers from at least eight countries, underscoring how far the Yemen conflict now reaches into Gulf aviation.
GACA said two people died at Abha International Airport in the south: one Moroccan and one Algerian resident, both women, according to Gulf News. Another 28 people were injured there, including two Saudi citizens and residents from Bangladesh and the Philippines, Anadolu Agency reported.
At King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, a Sudanese national was killed and eight people were injured: five Saudis, two Egyptians and one Pakistani, GACA said. Injuries ranged from minor to serious, and all of the injured were taken to hospital.
GACA said the attacks caused material damage, without giving details. It said emergency teams responded “immediately in line with established procedures and emergency plans” and that it is working with security agencies to assess the damage and protect passengers, staff and the kingdom’s civil aviation system, Gulf News reported.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed both attacks on Oct. 7, Anadolu reported. He said Riyadh’s airport was targeted with drones and Abha’s with ballistic missiles and drones. Those claims have not been independently verified, and GACA’s statement did not describe the weapons used.
The fighting has continued. France 24 reported explosions heard in Riyadh after the airport attacks, and Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 8 that Yemeni government forces had struck Houthi sites while the Houthis claimed Riyadh’s airport had been targeted again. Canada News Media has not independently confirmed the Oct. 8 reports, and this story is developing.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthis since March 2015. Smoke and flames were also reported near Riyadh’s airport on Sept. 19 after Saudi Arabia issued an aerial threat alert, AFP reported via Al-Monitor.
For Canadians, the Government of Canada’s travel advice for Saudi Arabia already tells travellers to “exercise a high degree of caution” because of the threat of terrorist attacks and security incidents. It advises avoiding all travel within 80 kilometres of the Yemen border and avoiding non-essential travel to Abha International Airport because of missile and drone risks. The advice also warns that airports in the southwestern border area may close with little or no notice.
GACA’s list of the dead and injured did not include any Canadians. Canadians in Saudi Arabia can register with the federal government and check the travel advice page for updates. Riyadh is a major connecting point for flights between Canada and South Asia and the Gulf, so airport disruptions there can affect itineraries for diaspora travellers, although no flight cancellations were confirmed in the reports reviewed.
What happens next depends on whether the strikes continue and how Riyadh responds. Saudi officials had not announced a retaliation as of the latest reports, and GACA has not said whether operations at either airport have been restricted.
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Via Anadolu Agency and Gulf News.
