– Saudi civil aviation authorities said an attack late on Saturday, October 10th, on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
– Operations at the airport were suspended and flights diverted or cancelled. It was the third strike on the same airport this week. Earlier attacks killed at least three Saudis, including a pilot.
– The Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthis, called the strike a war crime, and said it would respond decisively. A projectile was also reported near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. The Houthis had not claimed the latest attack at the time of the Saudi statement, but have previously struck the airport and warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace except over Mecca and Medina.
– Travellers between Thailand and Saudi Arabia, or those using Riyadh as a transit point, should check flight status with their airline before heading to the airport and consider alternative routings.
Riyadh: An attack on King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309 on Saturday evening, Saudi civil aviation authorities said, forcing the temporary suspension of operations at the capital’s main hub and prompting a Saudi-led coalition to promise a firm response.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation said the late Saturday strike killed four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian, and one Sudanese.
Some of the injured were in critical condition and were taken to several hospitals by ambulance and helicopter. Property damage was still being assessed. The airport serves a city of roughly eight million people. All flights into Riyadh were diverted or cancelled while officials examined the site. Several Gulf carriers, including Kuwait Airways, suspended services, citing the security situation. Etihad and Qatar Airways cancelled multiple flights involving Riyadh, some into Monday. Passengers were told to contact their airlines directly rather than travel to the airport.
It was the third attack on King Khalid this week. On Thursday, two strikes killed at least three Saudis, including a Saudia pilot, and damaged an aircraft on the ground. Earlier in the week, attacks on Abha and King Khalid airports killed three people and injured dozens more.
The Saudi-led coalition blamed the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen for Saturday’s strike on a passenger terminal and called it a “full-fledged war crime.” Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Malki said the coalition would “respond decisively to this terrorist attack in accordance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law.” He also confirmed that a projectile fell near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
The Houthis had not claimed the latest attack when Saudi authorities issued their statement. They have claimed earlier strikes on the airport with ballistic missiles and have warned aviation companies that any aircraft using Saudi airspace, except over Mecca and Medina, is a target. They have described the strikes as retaliation for Saudi and Yemeni-government attacks on airports in Sanaa and Hodeidah.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks, noting that an American was among the dead, and said they showed “a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life.” President Donald Trump, asked whether Washington might join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, said “we may” and that a decision would be made quickly. Embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada advised their citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas.
The fighting is part of a wider escalation. A Saudi-backed Yemeni government offensive against the Houthis began earlier in the week after the group seized territory along the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The UN envoy has warned that Yemen has returned to full-scale war. Saudi and Yemeni forces have reported hundreds of strikes on Houthi-held areas. The Houthis say those strikes have killed civilians. Independent verification of either side’s claims is limited.
For travellers, the practical effect is disruption at Riyadh and heightened risk across Saudi airspace. Direct flights between Thailand and Saudi Arabia include Riyadh Air’s new Riyadh–Bangkok service, which began in early September and was due to go daily in October, and Saudia services between Bangkok and Jeddah.
Many long-haul itineraries also transit through Riyadh or other Saudi airports. Anyone booked on a flight into or out of King Khalid, or connecting there, should reconfirm with the airline before leaving for the airport. Jeddah has not been hit in the same sequence and remains an alternative for some Saudi routes, though conditions can change.
Travellers already in Saudi Arabia who need to leave should contact their airline and, if necessary, their embassy. The Saudi foreign ministry has told its own citizens abroad whose plans are disrupted to contact local embassies.