Britons Told to Leave Saudi Arabia Overland as Airports Shut
The Foreign Office now advises against all but essential travel to Riyadh province, four southern regions and the cities of Taif, Jeddah and Dammam, and to every Saudi airport except Medina. It suggests British nationals leave by road for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or Jordan and fly from there. Further attacks on airports are “very likely”.
The practical warning is the one to note: travel insurance can be invalidated by travelling against official advice. Behind it is a run of attacks that the sources describe differently and that is better quoted than counted — the latest of several on King Khalid International in the past week. Sunday evening’s projectile hit terminals three and four, killing one person, a Pakistani resident, and injuring eleven; air defences also intercepted a cruise missile nearby. That strike has not been claimed by anyone, and while it has been widely attributed to the Houthis, the group claimed earlier attacks and has said nothing about this one. Saturday’s strike on the same airport killed thirteen and injured 308. A separate projectile hit King Fahd International at Dammam. Riyadh’s schools have moved online until Thursday and Jeddah logged more than 150 cancellations and 374 delays on Sunday. Australia, New Zealand and Canada have issued their own warnings and South Korea has told citizens to leave unless their business is essential. Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree has said every Saudi airport bar Mecca and Medina is a target and that “the worst is yet to come”.