Saudi Arabia has extended the closure of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport until October 17 after deadly attacks blamed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels disrupted flights and raised questions about the kingdom’s ability to defend critical infrastructure.
The airport has been shut since Saturday’s attack, which reportedly killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
A further attack on Sunday killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others.
The strikes have highlighted the growing capabilities of the ’ missile and drone arsenal and the challenges facing despite its advanced air defence systems, as attacks reach deep inside Saudi territory.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed movement that seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, have expanded their military capabilities over the past decade. Their drones and missiles have reached targets as far away as Israel, while repeated cross-border attacks have threatened Saudi territory and infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia’s airports are strategically important, connecting the kingdom to international travel, trade and commerce. is a major political and economic centre, making attacks on its transport infrastructure particularly disruptive.
The attacks come amid wider regional tensions that have also threatened shipping routes and energy supplies. The strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is a key route for global trade and energy shipments.
Further escalation involving the Houthis could add to regional security and shipping at risks amid the Hormuz crisis.
An initial investigation into the Riyadh airport attack indicates that the Houthis used multiple drones before launching a combination of cruise and ballistic missiles, according to two regional officials cited by the Associated Press.
The drones may have helped pave the way for the missiles, complicating the task of Saudi air defence systems. One official cited by AP said investigators were also examining why the systems did not provide earlier warning of the attack, in which the weapons travelled more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) to reach .
The Houthis possess ballistic missiles and systems capable of changing direction during flight, which can make interception more difficult. The precise sequence of events and reasons the weapons reached their targets remain under investigation.
operates advanced, multilayered air defence systems, including US-supplied Patriot and THAAD systems.
However, several factors can complicate efforts to stop sustained attacks.
An aviation source who oversees Gulf flights told AFP that Saudi authorities had informed airlines the suspension would last at least until Thursday.
The source cited in the report also said terminals 3 and 4, radar and communications equipment had been damaged.
The airport’s closure has since been extended until October 17.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed aircraft avoiding Riyadh on Monday, although flights continued to cross Saudi airspace and land at Jeddah, a major aviation hub on the kingdom’s western coast.
Cancellations across Saudi airports reached 46.4%, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium cited by Reuters.
“This level of sustained intense attack on civil aviation is unprecedented,” Mark Zee, founder of aviation safety advisory group OPSGROUP, told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly approached friendly countries for air defence deployments and other assistance.
