Riyadh airport reopens two terminals on Sunday, and the Houthis warn airlines to stay away

Riyadh's airport started moving passengers again on Sunday. King Khalid International Airport said Terminal 1 will handle domestic flights and Terminal 2 will handle international flights run by national carriers. Travelers were told to check their bookings with their airlines before coming to the airport. A flight tracking site recorded a plane taking off from Riyadh early Sunday, bound for Jeddah.

Operations at the airport stopped on October 10, after a Houthi attack that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. It was the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade, and the closure was extended two days after it began.

The Houthis answered the reopening with a threat. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said the airport is still unsafe and remains a military target, and he warned international, regional and local airlines, along with staff and travelers, against using it. Saree also claimed Houthi attacks on Aramco facilities in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and the East West oil pipeline. The Saudi led coalition said early Sunday that it had shot down two drones in the Riyadh area.

Foreign airlines are staying away longer. Air India and Air India Express said their flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam will remain suspended until November 7, and their Jeddah services until October 31. IndiGo and Akasa Air have also cancelled services to Saudi cities.

The Houthis have fired ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi airports, ports and oil sites for weeks, since the truce in Yemen broke down in the summer. Saudi Arabia has stepped up its own strikes in Yemen and backs a government counteroffensive there, after the Houthis seized ground along the Red Sea coast last month. Earlier this week the United States ordered non emergency staff and families out of its missions in Saudi Arabia.