Explosion at Saudi Arabian airport leaves injuries, and flights are cancelled, says agency

The international airport in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, was closed after an explosion this Saturday (10). Two witnesses and two people briefed on the case told Reuters news agency that several people were injured. Passengers were evacuated from some areas, and more than ten ambulances were seen heading to the scene.

One of the witnesses mentioned by the agency reported seeing the explosion and then several injured people lying on the ground inside the airport. The Saudi government press office and the country's civil aviation authority did not return requests for comment.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Aviation Authority wrote in a statement that operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were suspended following the attack.

The incident comes amid intensified missile attacks by the Houthis, an Iran-aligned Yemeni rebel group, against Saudi Arabia. The airport had already been the target of two attacks this week, which left four dead and others injured, in addition to causing serious damage to an aircraft.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 indicated that all flights to Riyadh had been diverted or cancelled. At one point, only one helicopter was flying over the airport.

The terminal administration advised passengers to contact the airlines directly and check the status of their flights before traveling to the location.

The airline Kuwait Airways announced the cancellation of flights to and from the Saudi capital due to the closure of the airport, attributed to the security situation. Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways had also suspended several operations between their hubs and Riyadh.

Houthi attacks during the week led other companies to suspend or cancel flights to the Saudi capital. The outages occur on the eve of important energy and investment conferences scheduled for the city.

The organizers of the events stated this Saturday that the program would be maintained as planned and sought to reassure participants about the safety conditions.

The Houthis, in turn, recommended that commercial aircraft avoid Saudi airspace, which they declared a zone of military operations. The measure was announced after the Yemeni government, supported by Saudi Arabia, launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.