Why Are the Houthis Attacking Saudi Airports?

These attacks are the deadliest on Saudi territory in more than a decade.

Yemen's Houthis have claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport that killed one person and wounded nearly a dozen - a day after another attack that killed 13 and wounded more than 300.

The strikes are one of the most significant disruptions to Saudi civil aviation in recent years and the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade, as Yemeni government forces also target airports in Houthi-held territory.

List of 3 items List 1 of 3 Will the war in Yemen enter a new phase?

List 2 of 3 Iran asks Saudi Arabia to pursue diplomacy after the escalation of Houthi attacks.

List 3 of 3 Saudi Arabia says 1 killed and 11 injured in recent attack on Riyadh airport

The end of the sharp escalation on the new war front comes amid fighting between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the collapse of a UN-brokered ceasefire that had largely been in place since 2022.

Which Saudi airports have the Houthis attacked?

Riyadh King Khalid International Airport: The Saudi capital's airport has been attacked four times in the last five days. Saudi authorities reported that one person was killed and eight others were wounded on October 7. The next day, an airline pilot and two other Saudi citizens were killed and several others wounded in an attack.

King Fahd International Airport in Dammam: On Sunday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on Dammam Airport, an industrial port city on the Persian Gulf coast.

Abha International Airport: On October 7, two people were killed and 28 injured in an attack on facilities at the airport.

King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan: On October 6, Saudi authorities reported attacks on the southern airport in which three people were injured.

Najran Airport: On the same day, Saudi officials said Najran Airport was hit and reported minor injuries.

Have the Yemeni forces attacked the airports controlled by the Houthis?

yes On Sunday, the Houthi media reported that Saudi airstrikes targeted areas in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, which are under the control of the Iranian-backed armed group.

Reports indicate that these attacks targeted the airport road area in al-Thawrah area of Sana'a as well as Hamdan area. There was no information on the results of those attacks.

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces also hit Sana'a airport on July 13 with at least five munitions in a series of airstrikes, three of which directly hit the only runway.

Since 2014, the Houthis have controlled Sana'a and parts of northwestern Yemen. The fighting is taking place around the southern cities of Moka and Dhubab, which are on the coast of the Red Sea and are strategically important for controlling the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The vital shipping stop has become an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks have increased costs and risks for tanker operators.

The attacks have emptied the sky. At the same time as extending the suspension of operations at the international airport of this city, the second busiest airport after Jeddah, the authorities of the country suspended Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Lufthansa has canceled all flights to Riyadh until October 16, while Air France-KLM extended its previous suspension of services to and from the Saudi capital until the end of the month. Britain, France and Germany have warned their citizens to stay away from Riyadh.

This disruption occurs while the country is hosting two major energy and investment conferences in Saudi Arabia.

Organizers of the World Petroleum Congress (WPC), which is set to host top oil executives and global policymakers from Sunday to Thursday, said it was going ahead as planned. The Future Investment Initiative, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom's flagship investment conference a decade ago, is also scheduled to run from October 26 to 29.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the WPC that the kingdom's resilience had been tested, but sought to reassure participants at the high-level conference that the response would be "equally serious".

The kingdom, which is gearing up to host the 2032 FIFA World Cup, has long sought to position itself as a safe destination for major events, global tourism and investment.

Hisham al-Omaisi, a conflict analyst and adviser to the European Institute of Peace, predicted that the Houthis would escalate attacks, including oil pipelines and energy facilities - and continue to do so. Attacks on airports are due to a strong "public response" to targeting such targets.

"The Houthis have increased greatly, they have crossed that line... They have their own frameworks, they have their own calculations, and stopping the attack on the civilian airport is not one of those calculations," al-Omaysi told Al Jazeera.

"They are a maximalist group and are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want, including 'more concessions from the Saudis,'" the analyst said.

Why are the Yemeni forces attacking the airports controlled by the Houthis?

The Yemeni capital hosts the only airport that offers international flights to and from Houthi-controlled territory, where the majority of Yemen's population lives.

The Houthi TV channel also announced Thursday's attacks on Hodeidah International Airport on the shores of the Red Sea without mentioning the amount of damage.

The representatives of Yemen in the United Nations have claimed that these airports are used for the transportation of Houthi delegations to Iran, which supports this group. According to the Yemeni government, attacks on airport facilities have been carried out to prevent Iranian planes from landing there.