Lufthansa Group and Three Indian Airlines Suspend Riyadh Flights After Houthi Claim of Airport Strike

Since the Houthi strikes on Saudi airports on Oct. 6 and 7, the toll has stood at three dead and 36 injured at Riyadh and Abha, according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation. On Thursday, Oct. 8, the damage spread to the commercial map.

Airlines pull out

A Lufthansa spokesperson said the group's airlines will suspend Riyadh flights through Oct. 16 because of "current developments in the Middle East."

India's IndiGo cancelled all Riyadh services until Oct. 9. Air India and Akasa Air cancelled all flights to and from the Saudi capital until Oct. 10. An Air India flight from Delhi to Riyadh turned around and returned to Delhi on Thursday, and Akasa cancelled two scheduled services.

The numbers at the airport itself are rough. Cirium data showed 49.7% of departures from Riyadh airport had been cancelled by 1500 GMT. Cirium also counted 293 cancelled or nonoperating flights, about 39% of scheduled arrivals and departures. A further 31 cancellations are expected across Saudi airports on Friday. Flightradar24 said the airport had "closed again" Thursday afternoon, with the last landing more than 80 minutes earlier.

The aircraft fire

The Houthis said they hit King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. They offered no evidence, and Saudi authorities have not commented on the claim.

Three people briefed on the matter told Reuters that shrapnel from an interception or another projectile left a parked Saudia Airlines plane heavily damaged by fire at a terminal. They said no passengers were believed to be aboard, though they could not rule out injuries. A video verified by Reuters showed a thick column of black smoke and flames over the airport.

Early footage suggests the aircraft was an Airbus A320, but its registration has not been independently verified. Whether the Houthi missile struck the plane directly or debris from an interception caused the fire is unconfirmed.

Separately, Saudi officials said debris from an intercepted missile hit a kindergarten and a medical complex in Riyadh.

Washington tightens its own rules

The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia said government employees now need special authorization to use King Khalid International Airport. It warned that the Houthis have fought against Saudi Arabia, "including against civilian airports, and the military conflict has the potential to escalate."

Employees are also barred from traveling within 20 miles of the Yemen border. They need special authorization to travel to Jizan, Asir, Najran, Qatif, Yanbu and Taif.

The Houthis have said they will keep targeting airlines. The group had warned global carriers "for the last time" about operating in Saudi airspace, which it calls a theater of military operations. It also told workers to stay away from energy plants, which it said would be targeted.

Why the Houthis say they are doing this

The Houthis say they are targeting the kingdom over its support for Yemeni government forces in the country's reignited civil war. Saudi Arabia says it is backing an offensive by Yemen's UN-recognized government to retake territory from the Houthis.

The ground picture is moving. The Houthis have advanced across Yemen's coastal plain over the past month and were approaching Taiz on Wednesday. Independent observers warned of a danger the group could capture the city, with signs that government-linked forces were pulling back to secure the port of Aden.

Yemeni government forces, for their part, have claimed advances near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis claimed effective control of the strait last month.

The fighting flared in July, shortly after the U.S.-Iran ceasefire unravelled, with Houthi missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers.

Pakistan confirms troops on Saudi soil

Pakistan has confirmed its forces are already in the kingdom. "The forces of Pakistan are already there. That I can share with you," Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, head of the Pakistani military's media wing, told CNN on Wednesday. He declined to give numbers or capabilities, calling them classified.

Chaudhry said Pakistan has had a military presence in Saudi Arabia for decades and called its commitment to Saudi security "absolute." He described the new pact among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, often called the Mecca Alliance, as collective defense: an attack on one member is an attack on all.

What comes next

Riyadh is due to host the WPC Energy Congress this week, a major gathering of energy policymakers, as the Houthis threaten energy plants.

Delta Air Lines is scheduled to launch nonstop Atlanta service on Oct. 23, and Riyadh Air is mid-expansion. Lufthansa's Oct. 16 suspension date will show whether carriers expect the threat to ease within a week or two.