Smoke, flames seen near Riyadh airport, ‘major’ flight disruptions reported

A large plume of smoke was visible near Riyadh's main airport on Saturday after booms were heard and ​Saudi Arabia ‌sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around the capital, amid an ⁠escalation in attacks by Yemen's Houthi group.

Two residents of the Saudi capital said they saw black smoke and flames emanating from the area near the Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, while other people in the city reported hearing explosions.

"In the direction of the airport we saw black smoke and fire," one of the residents told AFP.

An Aramco fuel tank the airport was on fire Saturday, according to an AFP journalist. Firefighters could be seen trying to extinguish the flames of a burnt out fuel tank with the Saudi oil giant Aramco logo appearing on the structure. 

Meanwhile aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 reported major issues at the airport, including cancellations and delays.

The Riyadh King Khalid International Airport was listed under the site's maximum disruption index of 5.0, meaning the airport was seeing "major problems with long delays and several cancelled flights".

The disruption follows an overnight air raid alert issued by Saudi authorities.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like another round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital. 

The alert in Riyadh was the first for the Saudi capital since the latest escalation with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen's Houthis have staged a lightning offensive this month, seizing swathes of territory in one of the world's poorest countries, leaving the internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, scrambling to respond.

Saudi Arabia itself, one of the region's powerhouses, has conducted scores of air strikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance. It has also sought help from its ally the US, that has not materialised.

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'Terrifying'

A Riyadh resident on Saturday described the attack as "terrifying". 

"I was extremely anxious – especially because, unlike previous times, the 'all-clear' signal didn't come right away," the central Riyadh resident said.

"I heard the alarm, then my windows shook," said another Riyadh resident, 27, living in the city's north. "It was definitely scary. I was not expecting this."

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the threat mentioned in the warnings sent overnight to residents of several regions and has not identified where it originated from.

The incident comes days after Riyadh accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca on Wednesday, denouncing it as a "cowardly terrorist attack" on Islam's holy city, which welcomes millions of pilgrims each year, both Sunnis and Shias.

The Iran-backed Houthis strongly denied the accusation, calling it a "worn-out lie".

Watch moreSaudi Arabia accuses Houthis of targeting Mecca, warns of 'red line'

The group has reported scores of retaliatory strikes carried out daily by Riyadh since their offensive this month to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab strait.

Riyadh was targeted with waves of attacks during an earlier period of the war, including a drone strike on the US embassy in the capital's diplomatic quarter in March.

While the US, according to news platform Axios, last week refused a Saudi request to strike the Houthis, Washington on Thursday approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom to help Riyadh "deter current and future threats", the US State Department said.

Reduced Saudi exports

The United Nations said on Friday that the renewed fighting had displaced more than 112,000 people while nearly 3,000 others had fled across the sea to Djibouti.

War in Yemen broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and other regions, triggering a military intervention led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015.

The fragile truce reached in 2022 between the warring parties collapsed in July, when the Houthis defied Riyadh's control of Yemeni airspace by allowing an Iranian aircraft to land in Yemen.

Their recent takeover of the coastline has sparked global concern, with international maritime trade already impacted by Iran's imposition of a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East war erupted in late February.

The Houthis insist there is no threat to shipping in the sea lane – except for ships from Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude exporter.

The attack targeting Riyadh came as the Houthis improve their defences in newly conquered territory along Yemen's Red Sea coastline, with members of the group telling AFP they have been installing radar and digging tunnels.