A ballistic missile landed near the runway at Aden International Airport on Wednesday, minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land, as Houthi forces intensified attacks on Yemeni infrastructure along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait shipping corridor.

Yemen's Transport Ministry diverted the incoming aircraft to Jeddah and moved two planes already on the runway to safer ground. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted infrastructure including airports, oil refineries and pipelines in Saudi Arabia, reviving a 12-year war that has fragmented the Arab world's most impoverished country.

Why does Bab el-Mandeb matter for global freight?

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait — the narrow chokepoint between Yemen and Djibouti feeding the Red Sea and the Suez Canal — has become more critical for energy exports since the US-Iran conflict restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Fighting on Yemen's western front is now concentrated in the Dhubab district, which overlooks the strait.

Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi-led coalition air support, launched a counter-offensive this week to retake strategic territory near Mocha, a coastal town the Houthis captured in September.

What is the ground picture on the western front?

Hussam Radman, a researcher at the Sanaa Center think tank, said pro-government forces including the Giants Brigade are trying to take control of Dhubab and to advance in the mountains to its east. "Control of those highlands would allow for government forces to more easily advance up the rest of the coast," Radman said.

Pro-government forces attempted an advance in the strategic hills east of the coastal plain. Yemeni military officials and analysts said Monday's government claim of reaching Mocha had been premature. The Houthis claimed they repelled the attacks.

What happened at Aden Airport?

The Houthi strike on Aden landed near the runway minutes before a scheduled arrival from Cairo. Yemen's Transport Ministry canceled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah, while repositioning two aircraft already on the ground away from the impact area over fears of further strikes.

Aden International Airport is the main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside Houthi control. The Houthis had no immediate public comment on the Aden strike.

How wide is the Houthi target set?

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with several drones and separately claimed attacks on Abha International Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait with ballistic missiles and drones. Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the Riyadh or Abha strikes.

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh on Wednesday and tracked the launch platform over Houthi-controlled Sanaa, pledging to destroy it. Earlier in the day, the coalition said it had intercepted a separate missile headed for Khamis Mushait.

What does this mean for shipping and logistics?

The escalation places Bab el-Mandeb back at the center of routing risk for tanker operators and the energy flows that depend on the strait. The strait remains a key artery for seaborne oil and LNG reaching European and Asian markets from the Middle East.

For forwarders and shippers handling Yemen-related cargo, Aden's role as a logistics gateway for southern Yemen is compromised while the runway sits inside the Houthis' missile envelope. Operators serving Jeddah will absorb diverted Aden flights as a short-term capacity pressure on airport handling.

What trajectory lies ahead?

The pro-government push near Mocha is the second attempt to recapture the coast since September. If the counter-offensive stalls or Houthi forces regroup along the Dhubab ridgeline, the strait's risk premium for energy shipping will stay elevated, and the wider spillover from the US-Iran conflict will continue to weigh on regional air and sea lanes into the fourth quarter.