The Houthis carried out another attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport as eye witnesses reported seeing an explosion followed by multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the facility.
The United States, Canadian, German and Spanish embassies warned their citizens to avoid the affected area.
The U.S. Mission in the country said, it is “aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.”
According to the embassy, U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization to use the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. U.S. citizens should be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions, the alert said.
#BREAKING: Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announces a temporary suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday following an attack targeting the airport. https://t.co/cQAeSyHoeZ
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) October 10, 2026
“We recommend checking your flight departure status directly with the airline and with the airport… U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to travel within 20 miles of the Yemen border due to safety risks and need special authorization for travel to the provinces of Jizan, Asir, Najran, and the cities of Qatif, Yanbu, and Taif.”
Spain’s embassy posted an alert on X about a “new attack” on the airport. Kuwait Airways cancelled flights to and from Riyadh, citing the closure of the airport due to the “security situation.”
At least five people were being treated in an intensive care unit in Riyadh after injuries linked to a reported explosion at the airport. “Dozens of people were injured, most of them Saudi nationals. At least five of the injured — all Saudi nationals — are in intensive care,” source cited by AFP said.
Security Alert: U.S. Mission Saudi Arabia (October 10, 2026)
The U.S. Mission is aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.
U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization to use the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
U.S. citizens should be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions. We recommend checking your flight departure status directly with the airline and with the airport.
U.S. Government Employee Travel Restrictions:
U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization to use the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to travel within 20 miles of the Yemen border due to safety risks and need special authorization for travel to the provinces of Jizan, Asir, Najran, and the cities of Qatif, Yanbu, and Taif.Read more: https://t.co/uBrNoUIE3W
— U.S. Embassy Riyadh (@USAinKSA) October 10, 2026
Houthis Claim Attack
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed that Saudi Arabia launched four airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport, along with three other strikes targeting a telecommunications network in Al Mahabishah in Hajjah province, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV channel. There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials or Yemen’s internationally recognized government on that report.
People at Riyadh’s international airport were being evacuated after a loud blast was heard at the airport.
The Saudi government media office and the Saudi civil aviation authority did not immediately comment on the unfolding situation.
King Khalid International Airport issued an advisory instructing travelers to contact their airlines before heading there.
“Please contact your airline directly and confirm your flight status before heading to the airport,” a statement on the airport’s official X account said. The airport had issued a similar advisory on Thursday following a fatal attack that killed three people.
Broader Context of Recent Attacks and Regional Response
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a phone call from his Omani counterpart, Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, the Saudi foreign ministry said. Al-Busaidi expressed Oman’s condemnation of the targeting of Abha and King Khalid International Airports and its solidarity with Saudi Arabia. He affirmed his country’s categorical rejection of the targeting of civilian facilities and the endangering of the kingdom’s security and the safety of civilians.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government warned that a Houthi strike on Aden International Airport marked a critical shift in the group’s tactics, moving from a potential risk against international flight paths to direct, targeted attacks on vital civilian infrastructure.
A letter sent to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by Yemen’s UN envoy, Abdullah Al-Saadi, stated that the Houthis launched two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones at the airport at dawn on October 7. The strike occurred as a commercial airliner was preparing to land and while passengers and staff filled the terminal, it said.
The Yemeni government described the attack as a serious escalation and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and rules for the protection of civil aviation. It urged the Security Council to condemn the attack in the strongest terms, hold those responsible to account, and fully enforce arms embargoes to block the flow of weapons, military hardware and foreign technical expertise to the Houthis. The government warned that continued military support for the Iran-backed group directly threatens global navigation and risks severe humanitarian and material disasters. It also called for stronger international cooperation with Yemeni institutions to protect airports, civilian facilities and air routes.
Conferences Proceed Amid Security Concerns
Organizers of two major Saudi energy and investment conferences said their events would go ahead this month and reassured visitors on security, after missile attacks on Riyadh’s airport left four people dead and an airliner heavily damaged this week.
Riyadh is sticking to plans to convene global events and trying to draw in investment even amid escalating conflict with the Houthis.
Organizers of the World Petroleum Congress, set to host top global oil executives and policymakers from Sunday to Thursday, said it would proceed as planned with foreign leaders and ministers in attendance, according to an email sent to delegates. “Your comfort is our priority,” it said, noting that alternative routes to Riyadh, including via a four-hour drive from Dammam on the kingdom’s eastern coast, were available.
Fighting Continues in Yemen
According to Yemeni military, its forces were advancing against the Houthis in areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait but had not yet secured control of the waterway, after the government launched an operation to recapture lost territory. The government last week announced a counter-offensive aimed at retaking all areas held by the Houthis, after the group seized Yemen’s entire western coastline in a lightning offensive.
The Houthis confirmed that government forces had attacked in the Bab al-Mandab area but claimed to have repelled the assault. Sources from the military of Yemen’s internationally recognized government also said Mayun Island in the heart of the strait remained in Houthi hands as fighting continued.
Clashes in western Yemen, specifically around the strait, had killed at least 63 people in the past 24 hours, military sources from both sides said as per AFP reporting.
Thirty-five members of government forces had been killed, while 28 Houthis had died, the sources said. Forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government said they had killed several Houthi fighters north of Dhubab Airport.
In a post on X, the Southern Giant Forces said they had repelled an attack by the Houthis, destroying a large amount of the group’s equipment. The Southern Giant Forces added that the Saudi-led coalition had also targeted Houthi reinforcements with airstrikes.
Passenger and air traffic at King Khalid International Airport returned to normal Friday after two attacks by Yemen’s Houthis killed three Saudi citizens and injured others, Saudi state media reported.
State-run Alekhbariya TV said passenger movement at the airport was “flowing smoothly,” with operational services resumed and air traffic back to normal. The broadcaster said the rapid restoration of flights reflected the readiness of the airport’s infrastructure and the flexibility of Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation system in dealing with exceptional circumstances while prioritizing the safety of passengers and staff.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said Saturday it destroyed more than 100 military targets in a “large-scale operation” against the Iran-backed group.
The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government — which Saudi Arabia supports — reignited in July and has since spilled over into the neighboring kingdom. In addition to seizing territory along the Red Sea coast in Yemen, the Houthis have attacked transport hubs, oil facilities and other civilian targets in the world’s largest crude exporter with drones and missiles.
Houthi media reported that Saudi strikes on the airport in Sanaa had killed two people, a day after the Yemeni group launched deadly strikes against Riyadh’s air hub. Separately, the civil defense agency in the city reported extinguishing four fires caused by Saudi strikes, including one it claimed destroyed a factory.
This report is being updated
Kiran Asim is a writer who covers the U.S., Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. Her reports and analyses look at the geostrategic issues and contemporary developments and their economic and political implications. She also writes about society and education.
