Multiple people wounded in blast at Riyadh airport, say eyewitnesses

Multiple People Wounded in Blast at Riyadh Airport, Flight Operations Disrupted

Incident Overview and Impact on Riyadh Airport

By Timour Azhari and Enas Alashray

Details of the Explosion

RIYADH, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Many people were wounded in a blast at Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, according to two eyewitnesses and two people briefed on the matter, and travellers were evacuated from parts of the facility.

One of the eyewitnesses reported seeing an explosion and then seeing multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the airport. More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the airport.

Official Response

The Saudi government's media office and the Saudi civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.

Context: Escalation of Attacks

Saturday's incident comes amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on the kingdom. The airport has already been attacked twice this week, leaving four people dead and others wounded, and badly damaging an aircraft.

Flight Operations Disrupted

Flight Cancellations and Diversions

Flight-tracking site flightradar24 showed all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point.

The airport urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check their flight status before heading there.

Airline Responses

Kuwait Airways said it had cancelled flights to and from the Saudi capital due to what it described as the closure of Riyadh airport because of the "security situation" there.

Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways earlier cancelled multiple flights between their respective hubs and Riyadh, with some cancellations extending into Monday.

Broader Impact on Air Travel and Events

Houthi attacks on Thursday and earlier in the week had already prompted a number of carriers to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital, shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences.

Organisers of those conferences said on Saturday they would go ahead as planned, and they sought to reassure attendees of their security.

Houthi Statement and Ongoing Security Concerns

The Houthis have said airliners should avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari in RiyadhWriting by Enas AlashrayEditing by Gareth Jones)