The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has advised airlines to avoid additional areas of Saudi Arabian airspace following attacks on Riyadh airport claimed by Yemen’s Iran aligned Houthi movement.
In an updated aviation safety bulletin issued on Friday, EASA expanded its existing advisory, first published on September 30, to include an additional area in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The agency said recent attacks demonstrated the Houthis’ ability and intention to strike targets deeper inside Saudi territory, including the capital.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said three Saudi nationals were killed and several people injured in two attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday. The Houthis said they had targeted the airport with two cruise missiles and renewed threats against airlines operating in the country.
EASA warned that repeated missile and drone attacks, alongside air defence operations, increased the risk of civilian aircraft being misidentified. It also cited dangers from missiles and drones passing through flight paths, interception operations and falling debris.
OPSGROUP, an organisation that shares aviation risk information with nearly 10,000 aviation professionals, issued a separate warning advising members not to fly to Saudi Arabia.
The organisation cited the risk of continued missile attacks and possible errors in defensive responses. It also recommended avoiding Saudi airports as alternative landing locations for flights travelling through the region.
The warnings highlight growing concerns over the safety of commercial aviation as attacks linked to the regional conflict threaten air travel across the Middle East.
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