Houthi paramilitary group warns international airlines to cease using Saudi Arabian airspace
EASA highlights broadening scope of attacks including strikes against aviation infrastructure.
Yemeni paramilitary leaders allied with the Houthi organisation have warned airlines to stop using Saudi Arabian airspace, owing to military action.
The Yemeni Armed Forces group highlights three recent attacks carried out with ballistic missiles, the first against Riyadh’s King Khalid airport which “caused disruption of air traffic”.
It adds that a second was aimed at a refinery in Rabigh, while the third was directed against Abha airport and other sites in Najran and Jazan, close to the Yemeni border.
“The [Yemeni Armed Forces] warn all international airlines using Saudi airspace to cease their flights, as it has become an operations zone for our forces,” says a 5 October statement from the Houthi-affiliated group.
“We disclaim any responsibility for the consequences of ignoring this warning.”
It says that its actions against the airports have been part of a response to “Saudi aggression” including strikes against the Yemeni capital Sana’a and various governing areas.
The group says the warning excludes the “sacred airspace” over Mecca and Madinah.
Saudi Arabian airspace remains a crucial crossing gateway between Europe and Asia, after the closure of Russian airspace and the decision by carriers to avoid Iranian airspace restricted northern crossings to a narrow channel over the Caucasus.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency states that Houthi forces “significantly increased the frequency and geographic scope of attacks” against Saudi infrastructure during September, with targets including energy and “aviation-related” facilities.
“While the southern and south-western parts of Saudi airspace remain particularly exposed due to their proximity to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, recent attacks have demonstrated the ability and intent of the Houthis to strike targets deeper inside Saudi territory,” it adds.
The expansion “increases the potential exposure of civil aviation” beyond areas previously affected by Houthi attacks.
Saudi Arabia has been able to manage airspace through tactical deconfliction and emergency security measures, the area remains “vulnerable to rapid deterioration”.
It has not advised a complete avoidance of Saudi airspace, but says air traffic should not operate in the area of the Jeddah flight information region bounded by the waypoints RIBOK, BOSUT, ISLAM, DEKLO, OBSAM and SILPA – a boundary which runs up the Red Sea and curves around Taif before continuing southeast to the Yemeni border.
Most carriers remain north of this boundary during Saudi crossings, although some airlines still use the southern region of airspace either for transit or to access Abha airport.
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