Saudi Arabia Reopens Riyadh Airport After Two-Week Closure as Houthi Attacks Continue

Saudi Arabia reopened King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, October 25, 2026, more than two weeks after strikes by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels knocked the facility out of service. The airport said on X on Saturday that Terminal 1 would handle domestic flights and Terminal 2 would handle international flights operated by national carriers. The Flight Radar monitoring site showed a plane leaving Riyadh early Sunday for Jeddah. An attack on the airport this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. Earlier Sunday, the kingdom said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone. The Houthis warned of more attacks to come. Saudi Arabia and Yemen's internationally recognised government, which it backs, have faced a wave of Houthi attacks in recent weeks since a years-long truce broke down in the summer. The fighting has shifted the focus of the wider U.S.-Iran war and deepened a humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

Right-leaning coverage came from Newsmax, which ran the AP roundup under the same headline, "Saudi Arabia Reopens Airport as Attacks by Houthi Rebels Persist, and Other Mideast News." Its available excerpt leads with the reopening for international flights, the two-plus weeks of closure after deadly Houthi strikes, and the missile and drone the kingdom said it intercepted. The excerpt does not include the casualty figures, terminal arrangements or the Houthi warning. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while alternative/independent and right-leaning outlets had; those covering it focus on the reopening and the continuing attacks. The alternative side largely matches the right through AP's identical text. The Hindu differs by adding the terminal split, the 13 dead and 300-plus wounded, the Houthi warning, the collapsed truce and the humanitarian toll in Yemen.