In a major escalation in West Asia, Yemen’s Houthi forces launched a fresh missile and drone attack on the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Thick black smoke was seen rising into the sky near King Khalid International Airport after explosions echoed across the city. The incident caused immediate panic, leading to emergency flight cancellations, widespread delays, and urgent regional air travel advisories.
Saudi air defence forces stated that they intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the city. However, the strike sparked a blaze at a nearby fuel storage facility, sending towering plumes of smoke visible from the main terminal roads. Flight tracking platforms quickly flagged operations at the airport at the highest disruption level, with multiple international carriers suspending or rerouting services.
This sharp flare up directly impacts India. Millions of Indian expatriates live and work in Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf region. Air travel disruptions mean cancelled flights, longer layovers, and soaring airfares for Indian passengers travelling between the subcontinent and West Asia. At the same time, renewed threats to Saudi infrastructure raise fresh worries over global energy supply and domestic fuel costs, keeping Indian authorities and travellers on high alert.
