Yemen's Houthis warn airlines away from Saudi airspace

Yemen's Houthi movement warned airlines against flying through Saudi Arabian airspace on October 5, 2026, saying the country's skies would become a combat zone for its forces. The warning came from the group's Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center and was carried by its Saba news agency. No airports, routes or timing for any military action were named.

The notice followed the start of a Saudi-backed campaign against Houthi forces. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said 100 fighter jets took part in the first hours of Operation Dawn of Yemen and that 324 targets had been destroyed.

European regulators had already acted on Saudi airspace. On September 30, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency recommended that operators stay out of a defined portion of the Jeddah flight information region at every altitude and take care elsewhere in the area. Houthi missile and drone attacks have spread past southern and southwestern Saudi Arabia to reach the vicinity of Riyadh, Tabuk and Yanbu, EASA said. Those attacks, together with air-defence activity, leave civilian aircraft open to misidentification, interception and falling debris. The agency advised airlines to weigh the risks before departure and be ready to alter plans at short notice.

US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026 and Iran's response brought temporary airspace closures and restrictions across the region. EASA still advises against flying over Iran at any altitude, citing the chance of renewed military action and the risk that air-defence units could mistake civil aircraft for military ones.