Houthi military source warns airlines off Saudi airspace

The warning follows a month of strikes on Saudi airports and oil infrastructure, and a Riyadh explosion earlier Monday that authorities have not explained.

A Houthi military source has warned international airlines against flying through Saudi airspace, broadening a monthlong campaign that has so far targeted airports and oil infrastructure on the ground rather than commercial flight paths themselves.

The warning comes hours after an explosion was reported in Riyadh on Monday, with authorities not yet saying what was hit. It follows a run of strikes that has hit Jeddah and Riyadh repeatedly since September, reaching border provinces including Najran and Jazan, and that has included a claimed strike on an Aramco site and a fire at an Aramco facility. Saudi forces intercepted two more ballistic missiles on Saturday. Flights were suspended at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Sunday after several explosions there, and Delta has suspended its Riyadh route.

Saudi Arabia is weighing security contingencies, and Egypt is discussing defensive support after vowing to protect Saudi Arabia and calling an emergency session of parliament on Saturday. Brent crude climbed to $110 a barrel on Sunday as attacks continued near the Bab el-Mandeb shipping strait.

A direct threat to Saudi airspace goes further than strikes on ground infrastructure, since it raises the prospect that airlines could reroute away from Saudi skies broadly rather than avoiding specific airports. That would add to operating costs and insurance premiums across carriers and lengthen the list of disrupted routes beyond Delta's suspension. It also follows Brent's move to $110 on shipping concerns, adding a second transport corridor, alongside Bab el-Mandeb, to the regional risk premium that has been feeding into energy-cost exposure for US equities.