The Houthis issued a warning on 11 October 2026 to travellers and airlines against using Saudi airports. This follows a deadly attack on Riyadh's King Khalid airport on 10 October 2026, which killed at least 12 people and injured 309.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated that airports and airspace "are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces," adding that the group was pursuing "airport for airport, siege for siege, and escalation for escalation." The airports in Mecca and Medina were excepted from this warning.
The attack on King Khalid airport struck terminals 3 and 4, where passengers were awaiting domestic flights. Among the dead were four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian, and a Sudanese. A projectile also reportedly fell near King Fahd international airport in Dammam.
US President Donald Trump has indicated that Washington may join Saudi Arabia in carrying out air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Trump stated, "We may. We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We move very quickly."