US Orders Non-Emergency Staff to Leave Saudi Arabia

If you have a flight booked through Riyadh anytime soon, or family travelling there, this is worth five minutes of your time. The United States has just ordered its own non-emergency staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, and that tells you how seriously Washington is taking the Houthi threat right now.

This comes only weeks after the attack on King Khalid International Airport, which we covered as the Riyadh airport attack toll rose to 12 dead in the days after. The airport has now only partly reopened.

Why the US pulled its staff out

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia put out an updated security alert saying Iran-backed Houthis have carried out attacks on civilian airports and other important infrastructure, causing civilian deaths and serious travel disruption. The embassy warned that fighting could spread quickly beyond the areas already affected.

It also told American citizens to be extremely careful when using any airport in the kingdom, because of the risk of more attacks, airspace closures and sudden flight cancellations. US government staff now need special approval before they can use any Saudi airport at all. This followed an earlier warning covered in why the US began evacuating diplomats from Saudi Arabia.

What’s happening at Riyadh airport now

King Khalid International Airport partly reopened on Sunday. Terminal 1 is now handling domestic flights, and Terminal 2 is open for international flights run by Saudi carriers. This is only a partial return to normal, not a full reopening.

The airport had been shut since 10 October, after a Houthi-claimed attack killed 13 people and injured more than 300 others. That attack was one of the deadliest to hit Saudi Arabia in over a decade, and it came not long after a previous warning that told travellers to check their flights before heading to the airport.

Even with the partial reopening, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree has repeated his warning to airlines, airport staff and passengers. He described the airport as a military target and said further attacks on it will continue. You can read more about these repeated threats in our earlier coverage of Houthi warnings against Saudi airports.

More missiles intercepted on Sunday

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted more missiles and drones on Sunday, as fighting with the Houthis continues. We reported a similar case earlier this month when the coalition said a missile threat over Riyadh was destroyed before it could cause harm. The Houthis have held Yemen’s capital Sanaa and other areas since 2014, and fighting with Saudi-backed government forces picked up again in July after a truce that had mostly held since 2022 broke down. Saudi energy sites have also been targeted during this renewed round of fighting.

What this means if you live in Kuwait

Many people in Kuwait travel through Riyadh for connections, work or family visits, so this story matters here too. If you or someone you know has a flight booked through King Khalid Airport, check with the airline directly before travelling, since the partial reopening does not mean full services are back.

Kuwait residents should also keep an eye on wider regional travel advisories. The US Embassy in Kuwait has already issued its own warnings about Mideast flight risks, which we covered in the US Embassy’s alert for Americans in Kuwait, and Americans more broadly have been told to expect possible travel disruption risk as Gulf tensions rise. You can follow more of this developing story on our international news page.

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