SAUDI ARABIA: Abha Airport Closed Overnight Following Houthi Attack

ABHA, Saudi Arabia

• On 3 November, the Houthi-run Saba news agency in Sanaa published a statement from Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree in which he said Houthi forces had attacked Abha International Airport (AHB/OEAB) in Saudi Arabia's Asir region with a drone. The statement says the drone hit "precisely" and "disrupted air navigation" at the airport. It also says a ballistic missile scored a "direct hit" on Khamis Mushait Air Base.
• Saba does not say that the airport was closed, and the Houthi claim has not been independently verified.
• Xinhua reported that Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said coalition forces intercepted and destroyed three drones on 3 November. He said one was over the Mecca region, one was in the Eastern Province, and one was heading toward the southern region. He did not mention Abha airport.
• As of publication, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) had not published any statement on the Houthi claim or on the NOTAM restrictions.
• The airport is also closed overnight under Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) A3746/26. The NOTAM reads "AD CLSD", meaning the aerodrome is closed. It is valid from 28 October 2026 at 1000Z (1300L) until 5 November 2026 at 0300Z (0600L).
• A companion notice, NOTAM A3747/26, has the same start time and runs until 5 November 2026 at 1500Z (1800L). It amends section AD 2.18 of the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), which lists the airport's Air Traffic Services (ATS) communication facilities. Under the change, their operating hours (OPR HR) are 0300Z-1500Z (0600L-1800L).
• Taken together, the two notices point to a nightly closure from 1500Z to 0300Z (1800L to 0600L), not a round-the-clock shutdown. Flight data supports this reading. Flightradar24 shows flights landing and departing at Abha during daytime hours on both 3 and 4 November.
• Both NOTAMs took effect on 28 October, six days before the Houthi claim.
• Flightradar24 lists several cancellations at Abha on 3 November. They include Saudia (SV) flights SV1669 (arrival from Riyadh) and SV1670 (departure to Riyadh) and flyadeal (F3) flights F318, F328, F3338, and F3342, plus flydubai (FZ) flight FZ814 to Dubai (DXB). The data does not show whether any of these were cancelled because of the closure hours or for other reasons.
• The last departures Flightradar24 recorded on 3 November were SalamAir (OV) OV294 at 1406Z (1706L) and flynas (XY) XY738 at 1416Z (1716L), shortly before the 1500Z (1800L) cut-off. Movements resumed on the morning of 4 November with a flyadeal arrival from Jeddah at 0339Z (0639L). Saudia and flynas services followed.
• Airlines scheduled at Abha in the coming days include Saudia, flynas, flyadeal, flydubai, Air Arabia (G9), Air Cairo (SM), Nile Air (NP), and SalamAir.
• Inside Aviation News has previously reported on Houthi attacks on Abha and Riyadh airports and warnings to airlines against using Saudi airspace.
• GACA has been contacted for comment.

Sources:

• Saba News Agency
• Flightradar24
• Xinhua
• Shafaq News