Several countries have advised their citizens against travelling to Saudi Arabia after a series of Houthi attacks on the kingdom’s airports. Australia and New Zealand were the latest to issue such warnings on Monday, joining earlier advisories from the United States, Canada, Britain, South Korea and Japan.
Travel advisories from Australia, New Zealand and other nations
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told its citizens to steer clear of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and to think again before using other Saudi airports. New Zealand’s foreign ministry went further, telling residents not to travel through the capital’s main airport or to the provinces of Najran, Jazan and Asir under any circumstances, while asking them to avoid non-essential trips across the country.
Other governments have issued similar guidance. The US embassy in Riyadh said on Sunday that Americans should reconsider travel, pointing to the danger of attacks by Iran and the Iranian-backed Houthis. Canada advised against non-essential travel to any part of Saudi Arabia. South Korea told citizens already in the country to leave unless their business was essential, and urged anyone planning a trip to cancel it. Britain asked its citizens to avoid Jeddah and Dammam, and every airport except Medina’s, unless the journey was essential.
Five airport attacks in less than a week
The advisories come as Saudi Arabia faces five attacks on its airports within less than a week. According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, a projectile hit King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 11 others. A Houthi strike on the same airport the previous day killed 13 people and injured more than 300, making it the deadliest assault on Saudi Arabia in over ten years.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for all four strikes that came before Sunday’s incident. No group has yet claimed the Sunday projectile attack.
Flight cancellations and closures across the region
King Khalid airport in Riyadh and King Fahd airport in Dammam remain shut following the attacks, a development that has heavily disrupted air travel across the Middle East. Flights through King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah have also been affected. The flight-tracking site Flightradar24 counted more than 150 cancellations and 374 delays at the Jeddah airport on Sunday.
Brendan Sobie, an independent analyst and consultant based in Singapore, said it is too early to judge how far the attacks will reshape aviation in the region and beyond. He drew a comparison with the effects of the Iran war on the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, and said the impact of the current crisis will depend largely on how long Riyadh’s airport stays closed and how tight any restrictions remain once it reopens.
