Saudi authorities said, according to the Washington Post, the Associated Press and CBS, that the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10 killed 12 people and injured 309. USA Today reported that the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack. On Sunday afternoon, October 11, the airport was hit by a second strike; the Saudi-led coalition said a projectile targeted Terminal 4 and that site authorities were dealing with the fire (Bloomberg, the BBC). The General Authority of Civil Aviation announced that Dammam airport was targeted on Sunday evening, and the Houthis said they struck Dammam and Aramco facilities; Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the latter. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the death of a 28-year-old Egyptian flight attendant, according to Al-Ahram Online, and EgyptAir suspended its flights to Riyadh. We have not seen a final independent toll.
The attack hits civil aviation in the capital of the largest oil exporter, pushes airlines and oil company chiefs to change their plans, and raises the likelihood of the conflict widening regionally. The Washington Post reports that Saudi Arabia faces a new level of danger.
For those who travel, work or perform umrah in Saudi Arabia: check your flight status with the airline before heading to the airport. The global price of oil and petrol may be affected if the conflict widens.
Riyadh sees the targeting of civilians and airports as a crime, and vows a major response.
The Houthis state that their attacks are a response to coalition strikes, and warn airlines against using Saudi airports.
A civilian toll of this size at an international airport changes the nature of the war. We are watching three things: the airport’s status and the date flights resume, the nature of the coalition’s response, and whether Washington will actually join in.
Washington Post, Associated Press, CBS, USA Today, BBC, Bloomberg, Al-Ahram Online (October 10–11, 2026)
Second strike on Riyadh airport after Saturday’s attack that killed 12; Houthis claim responsibility, and an Egyptian flight attendant is among the victims
On Saturday, October 10, Saudi authorities announced 12 dead and 309 injured; then a projectile hit Terminal 4 on Sunday afternoon, and EgyptAir suspended its flights to Riyadh. We have not seen an independent toll.
Saudi authorities said, according to the Washington Post, the Associated Press and CBS, that the attack targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10 killed 12 people and injured 309 others. USA Today reported that the Houthis, an armed Yemeni group, claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Associated Press reported that Saudi Arabia extended the airport’s closure. This came after Thursday’s attack on October 8, which killed three Saudis according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, and after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency widened its warning about Saudi airspace, according to Reuters.
The airport was then hit by a second strike on Sunday afternoon, October 11; the Saudi-led coalition said a projectile targeted Terminal 4 and that site authorities were dealing with the resulting fire, according to Bloomberg and the BBC. The General Authority of Civil Aviation announced that Dammam airport was targeted on Sunday evening, and the Houthis said they struck Dammam airport and Aramco facilities in the Eastern Province; there was no immediate Saudi confirmation regarding Aramco. Riyadh vowed a major response, according to the Guardian and the Washington Post, and NBC said Trump is considering joining the fighting; we have not seen a decision.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack, according to Financial Juice, and Russia and Pakistan condemned it; Pakistan said it had tasked its embassy in Riyadh with helping its injured nationals. The Philippine Inquirer reported four Filipinos injured, three of them in intensive care. The Houthis repeated their warning to airlines, travellers and workers against using Saudi airports, according to Reuters, while the Washington Post saw Saudi Arabia facing a new level of danger amid the wider war with Iran, and the Guardian published an analysis saying the attack would force Trump to rethink his strategy.
There is a direct angle for the Egyptian reader: the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the death of a 28-year-old Egyptian flight attendant in the attack, according to Al-Ahram Online, Saudi Gazette reported that she worked for flynas, and Egypt Independent reported that the victims include an Egyptian woman working as a flight attendant. EgyptAir suspended its flights from Cairo and Alexandria to Riyadh until the airport resumes operations. The Hindu reported the death of an Indian man injured in the attack; it is not clear whether he is among the twelve. The Saudi Ministry of Energy had announced the start of the 25th World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh on Sunday, and organizers said on Saturday that major Saudi conferences would go ahead despite the attack, according to Reuters; then the Financial Times said oil company chiefs had withdrawn from the energy conference, and Reuters reported that Saudi stocks fell and that a Houthi-run television channel reported a strike on Sanaa airport, whose toll we have not seen. The Sydney Morning Herald published a headline about a rising toll without a new confirmed figure. The last US crude close, on Friday, was $91.85, and we have not seen prices after the second strike. Watching today: the airport’s status and the date flights resume, the coalition’s response, and the opening of the markets.