Missiles land 500 meters from Yemenia plane at Aden airport, Yemen’s information minister says


Yemen's transport minister speaks on the tarmac of Aden International Airport at night after the missile attack, with a Yemenia plane behind him

Yemen's Transport Minister Mohsen al-Omari speaks at Aden International Airport late on Friday, October 16, 2026, near where one of the two missiles landed, in a video frame posted on X by Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani. (Photo: Yemen Ministry of Information via X)

Two missiles that Yemen's government blamed on the Houthis landed inside Aden International Airport on Friday evening, about 500 meters from a Yemenia plane preparing to take off for Cairo, officials said.

Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani wrote on X that Yemenia flight IY 612 "was preparing for takeoff at the very moment" the missiles struck, and that they landed about 500 meters from the aircraft and about 100 meters from the center of the runway. "What occurred was not merely an assault on a civilian airport, but a direct threat to the lives of passengers and flight crews, to aviation safety, and a grave violation of international laws and norms," he wrote.

The Aden Security Department said two missiles fired by the Houthis fell inside the airport grounds, and no casualties were reported, Reuters said. The Associated Press said police in Aden described it as the second attack on the airport in less than 10 days, after two missiles hit the airport on October 7 without causing casualties. It also came a day after Houthi missiles struck Aden's al-Maashiq presidential palace on Thursday, an attack, claimed by the Houthis, that Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said killed five people.

Transport Minister Mohsen al-Omari, speaking in a video recorded at the airport after the strike, said the Yemenia plane was carrying 151 passengers and that they were taken off the aircraft after one missile fell near it, according to Barran Press, which carried his remarks. He said a second missile fell at the end of the runway and caused panic among departing and arriving travelers, and that a Fly Aden flight coming from Cairo was ordered to divert to Riyan or Seiyun. Al-Omari said the airport serves passengers from every province, "from al-Mahra in the east to Saada in the north," and serves more than the areas held by the government.

A post shared on X by Mohammed Abdulalim, a media worker from southern Yemen, quoted Fly Aden as saying its Cairo flight later took off from Djibouti at 2:05 a.m. on Saturday, Aden time, after air traffic at Aden resumed. Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Aden reported on Saturday that flights at the airport had resumed after being suspended temporarily because of the attack. The Ministry of Transport called the strike part of a "systematic Houthi escalation," the AP said.

The Houthis gave a different account. An unnamed Houthi military official told the Sanaa-based Saba agency that the group targeted a military facility next to the airport that it said housed a command center for the Saudi-led forces and a weapons depot, according to the AP. Anadolu Agency reported that the Houthis named the target as Badr Camp. Fayyad al-Noman, Yemen's assistant deputy minister of information for television, said on X that he told Al Arabiya the group's claims of military forces inside Aden airport were false.

Aden Governor Abdulrahman Sheikh inspected the airport after the attack and ordered that stranded passengers be housed, and al-Eryani posted a video of the governor saying that Aden "will not kneel to terrorism." An X user posting as Amjad al-Awlaqi, who shared footage of the governor's visit, prayed for "the civilians who were wounded" at the airport. Officials and news agencies reported no casualties, and Mereja could not confirm any injuries.

Mohammed al-Maqaleh, a Yemeni writer, wrote on X that he was not accusing anyone of the strike, but that Aden airport is now "the only outlet for thousands of Yemenis who leave their country or return to it, especially students, patients and expatriates." He wrote that his fear was that if the fighting grows, the airport could "turn into a target for strikes and closure."

The attack came on the same day the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at Yanbu, the Saudi Red Sea port. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said that "during the past hours" its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed the ballistic missile fired toward Yanbu, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones over the southern region and the Riyadh region. Reuters noted that Yanbu has become a key hub for Saudi oil exports that avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

In Washington, President Donald Trump was asked on Friday whether Saudi Arabia should accept Israel's help against the Houthis. Trump said he thought Riyadh should accept it and that "Israel has been very helpful to Saudi Arabia," The Times of Israel reported. Asked whether Saudi normalization with Israel under the Abraham Accords could be back on the table, he said, "maybe more than ever." The Times of Israel said it was not clear whether Trump meant Israel had helped Saudi Arabia against the Houthis specifically.

His remarks drew angry replies from Yemenis on X. One user, posting as Hafid al-Ansar, wrote in Arabic that after Trump's words, fighters paid by Saudi Arabia had no right to call their dead "martyrs," because, he wrote, doing so would insult God's wisdom and portray Netanyahu as blameless.

Al-Eryani, in his post on the airport attack, said the government "with the support and backing of our brothers in the Coalition to Support Legitimacy led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will steadfastly continue to protect our people, our institutions, and our vital facilities."

Sources

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