Houthi strikes kill 13 at Riyadh airport; Saudi aviation largely shut down

A Houthi-claimed missile strike hit the passenger terminal complex at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, killing about 13 people and wounding more than 300, according to Saudi authorities — the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in over a decade.

It was the third strike on the airport in a week. Earlier attacks killed four people and damaged a parked commercial aircraft. A follow-up strike on Sunday killed one more person and wounded about 11.

The airport remains effectively closed. Reuters reported 99.7 per cent of Sunday's scheduled flights were cancelled and about 60 per cent of Monday's were expected to be cancelled. Lufthansa suspended service until Oct. 16 and Air France-KLM extended its suspension to the end of the month.

Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia — the "R4" — issued a joint condemnation and said a collective-defence pact signed in August would be implemented, with Turkey offering defensive and technical support. Iran said Monday it was "deeply concerned."

Brent crude traded above $104 a barrel as markets weighed the threat to aviation and Gulf energy flows.

For Canadians, the stakes are twofold: pressure on pump and diesel prices — Serious Pick recently reported diesel nearing $2.70 a litre in New Brunswick — and disruption for travellers routed through the Gulf, one of the busiest transit corridors for flights between Canada and South Asia.