Riyadh:
Foreign embassies in Saudi Arabia warned their citizens to stay away from Riyadh’s international airport after it came under attack Saturday by Iran-backed Houthis and flights were suspended.
Britain, Canada, Germany, Spain and the United States urged their nationals to avoid the airport and obey local security instructions.
Spain’s embassy, in its message on X, said the alert was because of a “new attack” by the Houthis on the airport, where witnesses earlier told AFP an evacuation was ordered.
A diplomatic source separately told AFP that the Houthis had hit the airport with a missile around 1200 GMT.
Saudi authorities did not, at first, confirm any new attack or evacuation Saturday, until the message from the civil aviation authority hours later.
The Riyadh airport “was targeted in an attack on Saturday afternoon, October 10, 2026, amid continued attacks targeting the kingdom’s civil aviation facilities”, the aviation authority statement read. “The attack left several people injured, with the number still being assessed.”
Earlier, a source at a local hospital had told AFP that five people were in intensive care after being wounded at the airport, and “dozens” had been hurt.
Noting the attack, a US embassy statement in Riyadh said it “strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas”.
Britain’s foreign ministry urged its citizens “to avoid King Khalid International Airport until the airport is secure and to monitor the advice of the Saudi authorities”.
One western diplomat told AFP that several embassies were advising staff against using the airport for a week as a precaution.
Canada’s embassy said only that unspecified “ongoing military activity” was affecting Riyadh’s international airport, while Germany’s mission alluded to “the current situation”.
France’s embassy on Friday urged French nationals to take “utmost care” in Saudi Arabia because of “strikes in recent days by the Houthis”. It also warned French citizens not to record images of zones that were hit, nor share any online.
Saudi Arabia has been tightly controlling public information about Houthi attacks on its soil in recent weeks, leaving media and residents unclear as to the danger.
Riyadh airport was hit by deadly attacks claimed by the Houthis on Thursday.
The Houthis have opened a new front in the Middle East war in which the United States and its ally Israel are arrayed against Iran.
Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government and has been providing military support for its fight against the Houthis.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
