PAL cancels Riyadh flights as Houthis claim attack on Saudi Arabia

MANILA — Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it is cancelling PR654 and PR655 Manila-Riyadh-Manila flights as international airports in the Saudi Arabian capital were attacked on October 8.

“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority,” the flag carrier said in a statement.

The airline said its operational teams are assessing airport conditions and their implications for future flights. “Affected passengers will be informed of the cancellations and available travel options,” PAL said.

“We recognize the inconvenience and concern these cancellations may cause our passengers. We are continuously monitoring the situation to guide our next steps and support their travel needs,” PAL said.

Saudi authorities said Wednesday that three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs.

The Iran-backed fighters earlier took responsibility for a flurry of attacks that included firing a ballistic missile at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport as the conflict deepens with Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s government.

“On Tuesday and Wednesday…Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport were subjected to attacks targeting their facilities,” the kingdom’s civil aviation authority said in a statement.

An Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport and a Sudanese national was killed at the airport in Riyadh, the agency said, with 36 people wounded in the attacks.

In a subsequent statement the coalition directly blamed Houthi forces and said it would retaliate.

“The brutal attacks by the Terrorist Houthi Militia on civilian and civilian objects in the Kingdom, most recently targeting (the two airports) will not go unpunished,” it said on X.

“Our armed forces have just targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. The strike was accurate, by God’s grace, and led to a disruption of air traffic,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Wednesday on X.

The Saudi-led coalition said the missile was intercepted.

The Houthis also said they targeted a military supply convoy near the airport in Aden, the interim capital for Yemen’s government.

The government’s Saba news agency reported missiles and drones targeting that airport.

The agency cited transport authorities as saying one of the missiles landed near the runway minutes before the scheduled arrival of a flight from Cairo, which was forced to divert to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Houthi drones and missiles also targeted Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, spokesman Saree said, claiming they had “hit their targets accurately”.

It is the second time this week Houthis claimed to have attacked Riyadh’s main airport.