LONDON: Two missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen struck the airport in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Friday night while a passenger plane was preparing to take off. No casualties were reported.

The missiles landed about 500 meters from the Yemenia Airways aircraft, flight IY612 bound for Cairo, and approximately 100 meters from the midpoint of the runway, Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said in a message posted on social media platform X. The passengers and crew were safe, he added.

The strike came a day after at least five people were killed and 16 injured, according to health ministry figures, in an attack by the Houthis on a presidential palace complex in Aden. The city has served as the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015, shortly after the start of the civil war in the country.

Al-Eryani denounced Friday’s attack as a threat to passengers, flight crews and civilian aviation in general, saying dozens of people could have been killed.

“What happened was not merely an attack on a civilian airport, but a direct threat to the lives of passengers and flight crews and to the safety of air navigation, as well as a grave violation of international laws and norms,” he said.

“Targeting a civilian airport that handles dozens of flights daily … is neither a military achievement nor a victory to boast of.”

Targeting the airport threatened the ability of Yemenis to travel for medical treatment or education, Al-Eryani said. He thanked the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen for its support and pledged that the government would continue its work to protect civilians and vital national facilities, counter the Houthis, and restore state authority in the country.