UAE’s Etihad Airways halts flights to Saudi city of Medina following attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

The Etihad Airways has suspended its flights between Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and the Saudi city of Medina following attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement on the UAE territory.

Etihad announced on Monday that flights had been cancelled between Abu Dhabi and Medina until March 28 as the airline cited operational reasons for the long cancellation period.

Our teams are actively reaching out to affected travelers to provide them with alternative travel options or full refunds, said the Emirati airline in a statement on its website.

However, the statement by Etihad came hours after attacks by Houthis on several locations in Abu Dhabi where the airline is based.

Reports said fire had broken out at a construction site in Abu Dhabi International Airport although it was not clear if the fire had been caused by the attacks.

The Houthi movement claimed the drone attacks on Monday that mostly affected the storage facilities of a major oil company in Abu Dhabi and left three people killed and six more injured.

The Yemeni movement said the attacks were meant to force UAE authorities to give up helping Saudi Arabia in its ongoing carnage against the Yemeni people.

Houthi attacks were the first to target deep inside the UAE since a regional alliance led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States and the Israeli regime launched a destructive military campaign against Yemen in early 2015.

Emirati authorities had indicated in recent years that they had reduced their contribution to the campaign in Yemen although Houthis insist mercenaries trained and funded by the UAE have been actively working to destabilize regions in Yemen that are controlled by the group.