Houthis warn airlines against using Saudi airspace

A senior Houthi military official warned international airlines on Sunday not to use Saudi airspace, except over Mecca and Medina, hinting at possible attacks on aircraft, and said Saudi Aramco facilities are within Houthi strike range.

Why it matters: Saudi airspace is a main corridor between Europe and Asia, and a threat against civilian aircraft, after an October strike on Riyadh's international airport, raises the risk that airlines reroute and that the Yemen war's air dimension widens.

Data as of Yonhap News Agency report of November 1, 2026, in Korean, read in full in translation in this run; the warning is attributed to an unnamed senior Houthi military official quoted by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, a party to the Yemen conflict, and no airline, Saudi authority or aviation regulator response had been reported at check time. Developing item.

A senior Houthi military official warned international airlines on Sunday not to use Saudi airspace, except for the airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, hinting at possible attacks on aircraft, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency as reported by Yonhap. The official also said Saudi Aramco facilities are within the strike range of Houthi forces and called investment there a dangerous gamble that would bear enormous losses.

The warning comes as Yemen’s war, re-escalated since July, has repeatedly reached inside Saudi Arabia, including an October 10 strike on Riyadh’s international airport that Yonhap said killed at least 13 people. No airline, Saudi authority or aviation regulator had responded to the airspace warning in the reporting available at check time.

Houthis warn airlines against using Saudi airspace

Sources