Countries tell citizens to avoid Saudi Arabia after attacks

• Heightened threat against airports
• Plane struck in Riyadh on Thursday
• ‘Airlines must put safety first’

Western countries, including the UK, France and Germany, have warned their citizens not to travel to Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia due to ongoing Houthi attacks on airports that have killed at least three people this week.

The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel advice on Thursday evening, after a reported ballistic missile strike hit a commercial aircraft at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.

It told Britons to avoid “all but essential travel” to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest administrative region, as well as the provinces of Najran, Jizan and Aseer, Taif City and Taif International Airport.

It continues to advise against all travel within 10km of the border with Yemen.

“There is a heightened threat against airports, military bases, ports and energy infrastructure across Saudi Arabia,” the FCDO said.

The French Foreign Ministry published similar advice for its citizens.

The German, Australian and Canadian authorities have advised against any travel to Saudi Arabia.

The US, which had already been warning citizens against travel to Saudi Arabia, said that its government employees now require “special authorisation” to use King Khalid International Airport on Thursday evening.

The updates to travel advice followed confirmed attacks this week on Riyadh and Abha Airport, in which at least three people were killed and dozens more injured.

The Yemeni Houthi militia has also claimed additional attacks on Najran Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait that have not been confirmed by the Saudi authorities.

“Further attacks are possible,” the FCDO said. It advised all citizens to “exercise heightened vigilance” when traveling to Saudi Arabia.

Further reading:

• Riyadh Air grounds flights after Houthis claim missile attack
• Reality of war tests Saudi hopes for southern tourism
• Houthi attacks threaten Saudi Arabia’s oil export resilience

The Houthis have warned that they will continue to attack Saudi Aramco oil facilities and have said that Saudi airspace has become “a theatre for our military operations”, warning international airlines to stay away.

Saudi Arabia is currently in its end-of-year events season following disruptions to events at the start of the year due to the outbreak of conflict with Iran.

International attendance at Saudi events has been lower this year compared to previous years, based on firsthand observations by AGBI.

A number of events scheduled towards the end of the year, including the Red Sea Film Festival, have been cancelled or postponed in recent weeks.

While the experience since the outbreak of hostilities with Iran has shown that airlines can keep flying during a period of heightened risk, the strike on the plane in Riyadh on Thursday could change the calculus for airlines, said Andrew Charlton, the managing director of Swiss consultancy Aviation Advocacy.

“Targeting aircraft is a real escalation,” he said. “This will be significantly more disruptive because airlines must put safety first.”

Flights were still taking off and landing at King Khalid International Airport as of Friday morning, according to data available on Flightradar24, an aircraft tracking website.

Saudi flagship carrier Riyadh Air told AGBI that it had temporarily suspended flights after the “incident at King Khalid International Airport” but that it resumed flying on Thursday evening.

Saudia, the country’s other flagship airline did not respond to requests for comment.