Explosions near Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport trigger citywide alert, flights disrupted

Explosions and plumes of black smoke were reported near King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Saturday morning local time, prompting civil defence authorities to issue alerts across the city.

Several Riyadh residents told AFP that they heard a powerful explosion from the direction of the airport and saw flames and thick smoke rising into the sky.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 reported severe disruption to operations at King Khalid International Airport, where a maximum flight disruption index of 5.0 was recorded. Numerous flights were cancelled, while several others were delayed.

Civil defence authorities had issued an emergency air-raid warning across Riyadh at around 3am local time on Friday night, equivalent to 6am Bangladesh time on Saturday.

The mobile alert sent to residents said: “The area is under threat of enemy air strikes. Remain indoors until further instructions are issued.”

Residents heard two loud explosions within half an hour of the warning being issued.

The incident was described as the first major direct strike on Riyadh since the conflict in Yemen intensified again.

According to the United Nations, the recent conflict in Yemen has displaced more than 112,000 people, while nearly 3,000 others have fled by sea to Djibouti.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen seized control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait in a lightning operation this month. The Houthis subsequently announced a naval blockade on the Red Sea route Saudi Arabia had been using to export oil after the Strait of Hormuz was closed.

Shipping-tracking company Kpler said Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea have fallen sharply since July. The Houthis said the strait remained open to all ordinary commercial vessels except Saudi ships.