Smoke rose over Riyadh's airport after Yemen's Houthi movement said it had launched ballistic missiles at the facility, triggering a scramble among international carriers and a wave of canceled flights into Saudi Arabia's capital.

Lufthansa and several Indian airlines suspended service to Riyadh in the hours after the attack, and scores of other flights into the city were canceled, according to airline disclosures and airport data. A witness described an evacuation underway at the airport as the situation unfolded. Video circulating afterward showed smoke rising from the vicinity of an aircraft on the tarmac.

Accounts of what actually struck the airport, and with what effect, diverged. The Houthis said their forces had carried out ballistic missile strikes against Saudi airports and that the operation had succeeded. The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses had intercepted three Houthi ballistic missiles before they could do damage. Breitbart reported that at least three people were killed in the attacks, a figure that has not been corroborated by the coalition or by other outlets covering the episode.

The competing narratives are not unusual in the years-long conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa. The Houthis have periodically launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia, often describing the strikes as successful, while Saudi officials have regularly said their defense systems intercepted the projectiles before impact. Independent verification of damage and casualties in these episodes has frequently proven difficult in the immediate aftermath.

Whatever the precise outcome on the ground, the disruption to air travel was immediate and tangible. Riyadh's airport serves as a major hub for both domestic and international traffic, and the cancellations rippled through schedules for carriers well beyond Saudi Arabia's own airlines. The decisions by Lufthansa and Indian carriers to halt flights reflected a broader caution among international operators navigating airspace near an active conflict zone.

As of the latest reporting, neither the full extent of any damage nor a confirmed casualty count had been independently verified by multiple outlets, leaving the Houthi and Saudi-led coalition accounts as the two primary, competing versions of events.

References

1. 1.Houthi statement — claim of ballistic missile strikes on Saudi airports and asserted success of the operation
2. 2.Saudi-led coalition statement — claim that three Houthi ballistic missiles were intercepted
3. 3.Breitbart — reported claim of at least three deaths, uncorroborated by other outlets
4. 4.Airline disclosures and airport data — flight suspensions and cancellations by Lufthansa and Indian carriers
5. 5.Witness account and video footage — description of evacuation and smoke near an aircraft on the tarmac