Riyadh Airport Disrupted After Explosions, Fuel Depot Fire
By Abdulrazaq Auwal
Flight operations at King Khalid International Airport were disrupted on Saturday after explosions were heard across the Saudi capital, followed by a large fire and thick black smoke near an airport fuel storage area.
The incident occurred hours after Saudi Civil Defence issued an emergency warning to residents of Riyadh and nearby Al-Kharj over what it described as a potential “hostile aerial threat.”
Residents reported hearing loud booms and explosions before the authorities later issued an all-clear.
Large flames and a towering column of black smoke were subsequently seen near the airport. Reuters photographs and video showed firefighters responding to a burning fuel storage tank bearing the logo of Saudi oil giant Aramco.
However, Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the cause of the fire or whether it was directly linked to the reported aerial threat.
Riyadh Airport Disrupted After Explosions, Fuel Depot Fire
The security incident triggered significant disruption to flights at the airport. Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 placed the airport at its highest disruption level, with cancellations and delays reported.
The disruption comes amid a sharp escalation in fighting involving Yemen’s Houthi movement, which has intensified attacks against Saudi cities and infrastructure in recent weeks. The latest incident has heightened concerns over the security of Saudi Arabia’s aviation and energy infrastructure.
Saudi Civil Defence later declared the danger over in Riyadh and Al-Kharj and urged residents to continue following official safety instructions.
The incident could have implications for passengers transiting through Riyadh, including travellers connecting to Jeddah and Madinah for Umrah, as airlines work to restore normal schedules following the disruption.
Authorities had not, at the time of reporting, publicly confirmed the precise source of the aerial threat or officially attributed the airport-area fire to a particular attack.
