King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was hit by a second strike on Sunday, October 11, after Saturday’s strike that Saudi authorities said killed 12 and injured more than 300. The Saudi-led coalition said its defenses intercepted a missile near the airport and that an unidentified object hit a passenger terminal and caused a fire (BBC, FinancialJuice). The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said Dammam airport was targeted on Sunday evening and that damage assessment is under way (Sky News Arabia, FinancialJuice). The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on Riyadh and Dammam and for targeting two Aramco facilities; we found no Saudi confirmation that Aramco facilities were hit. One report cited an Indian killed and ten injured in Dammam; the authorities did not confirm it, so we do not adopt it.
Three Saudi airports and three days of attacks mean the danger to civil aviation is no longer a single incident. It raises the cost of insurance and air freight and threatens conferences and business in the kingdom.
If you have a flight to or via Riyadh or Dammam, check with the airline before heading to the airport. flydubai flights to Riyadh are cancelled until October 14, and Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia have adjusted their flight schedules.
One view: repeated attacks on civilian airports justify a decisive military response against the Houthis.
The other view: a broad response could widen the war in Yemen and expose Gulf facilities to more attacks.
We distinguish between what Saudi authorities announced, which is documented, and the Houthi claim of targeting Aramco facilities, which is unconfirmed. We are waiting to see the shape of the Saudi response and when air traffic resumes at Riyadh airport.
BBC, FinancialJuice, Sky News Arabia, Reuters, Washington Post, Financial Times, Emarat Al Youm, Gulf News (October 10 – 11, 2026)
Second strike on King Khalid airport in two days, Dammam airport attacked on Sunday evening, and the Houthis claim responsibility
The Saudi-led coalition said an unidentified object hit a passenger terminal at Riyadh airport and started a fire, a day after a strike that killed 12 people. Riyadh vows a major response, and flydubai has cancelled its flights to Riyadh until October 14.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was hit by a second strike in two days on Sunday, October 11, after Saturday’s strike that Saudi authorities said killed 12 people and injured more than 300. Houthi attacks on the Riyadh and Abha airports on October 8 killed three and injured dozens, according to Gulf News, which makes this the third wave of attacks on Saudi airports in four days. Saudi Arabia extended the airport’s closure after the first strike, according to the Associated Press. The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted a missile near the airport and that an unidentified object hit a passenger terminal and caused a fire, according to the BBC and FinancialJuice. On Sunday evening the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said Dammam airport in the Eastern Province had been targeted in an attack and that damage assessment was under way, according to Sky News Arabia and FinancialJuice. The coalition had described Saturday’s strike as a terrorist attack amounting to a war crime, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned it, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington stands with Saudi Arabia, according to FinancialJuice and Reuters. The UAE condemned the attacks on King Khalid airport, according to Sky News Arabia.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on Riyadh airport and for targeting Dammam airport and two Aramco facilities, according to Sky News Arabia and FinancialJuice, and we found no Saudi confirmation that Aramco facilities were hit. The Houthis renewed their warning to airlines and travelers against using Saudi airports and said Riyadh must bear responsibility, according to Reuters and FinancialJuice. Saudi Arabia said it would respond forcefully, according to the Washington Post, and the Financial Times reported that oil company chiefs pulled out of the World Energy Congress in Riyadh after the first strike; Saudi shares fell, according to Reuters. flydubai cancelled all its flights to Riyadh until October 14, according to Emarat Al Youm, and Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia announced changes or cancellations, according to Gulf News. Sky News Arabia said Saudi Arabia carried out raids on the Houthis in four Yemeni cities, and a Houthi-affiliated channel reported a strike on Sanaa airport, according to Reuters; we found no independent confirmation of the second strike. Bloomberg said the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia raise the risk of the war in the Middle East widening, which weighs on oil prices and investor confidence in the Gulf. In DailyDrop’s reading, the threat has moved from one airport to several, which matters to travelers between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but the shape of the Saudi response has not yet been announced. What is known so far is the toll of Saturday’s strike and Sunday’s attack on Dammam; the extent of the damage in Dammam, whether Aramco facilities were actually hit, and when Riyadh airport will resume operations have not been announced.