Houthi Strikes Ground Most Flights at Riyadh Airport as Saudi Cancellations Mount

Missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have left the skies over Riyadh nearly empty this month, with aviation data released on Monday showing that almost nine of every 10 scheduled flights at the Saudi capital's main airport were canceled.

According to the aviation analytics firm Cirium, 4,071 of 4,736 scheduled flights at King Khalid International Airport, roughly 86%, were scrapped between October 8 and October 25.

The Houthis have intensified their campaign against Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, using ballistic missiles and drones to target airports, ports and oil facilities. Riyadh's airport, the second-busiest in the kingdom after Jeddah, has been hit repeatedly. An attack on October 10 killed 13 people, making it the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

Saudi authorities partially reopened the airport on Sunday, after a halt that began on October 10. Domestic flights resumed from Terminal 1, while national carriers were permitted to run international services from Terminal 2.

The reopening was quickly overshadowed. On Monday the Houthis said they had attacked Riyadh's airport again, describing it as a "military target." International airlines have already suspended services to the Saudi capital into November, and Delta Air Lines has pushed back the launch of its Riyadh route until next year.

The fallout has reached beyond aviation. Several events in Riyadh have been canceled or postponed, among them Saudi Arabia's marquee investment conference, as the flight disruptions make it harder to travel to and within the kingdom.

The turmoil has also spread across the country. Cirium data shows more than 7,800 flights, or 45% of all scheduled departures from Saudi airports, were canceled between October 8 and October 25. Cancellations peaked on October 12, when more than 60% of scheduled flights nationwide were scrapped.

Other major airports have also suffered. Dammam recorded cancellations of 42%, while Abha, where the Houthis have claimed strikes, saw 46.7% of flights canceled. Some smaller regional airports lost the vast majority of their services, and at Najran, near the Yemeni border, every flight was canceled.