Riyadh airport to stay shut this week as Houthis fire again on Monday evening and airlines cancel Saudi flights
Riyadh's airport will stay shut this week as airlines cancel services (Straits Times), and Mint reported it closed until 17 October. Reuters reported airlines cancelling Saudi flights and The Hill that Delta postponed its Atlanta–Riyadh service. The airport was hit on Saturday, when Saudi authorities said 12 died and 309 were wounded (Washington Post), and again on Sunday; CBS News and The Times of India put the dead at 13. On Monday evening FinancialJuice reported a warning in Riyadh and three booms, the Saudi Gazette reported that coalition forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh, and GMA reported a Houthi claim of an attack on the airport. AP, via PBS NewsHour, reported that Saudi officials were investigating how the defences failed. A Houthi official warned of a swift, painful response if the United States enters the war (Straits Times, Vanguard, Le Figaro), and Iran offered to mediate (Straits Times). Saudi civil aviation confirmed only that Dammam airport was targeted; damage at Aramco sites is a Houthi claim.
Repeated strikes on a capital's main airport, now a third alarm, push a regional war towards global air travel and oil supply, and the question of whether the United States joins in could widen it.
Flights routed through Saudi airports may be cancelled, so check with your airline before going to the airport. Kenyans planning Umrah should ask their tour operator, and Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia should follow their embassy's advice. Higher crude prices would feed into the maximum pump prices EPRA announces on Wednesday 14 October.
Saudi Arabia says the attacks target civilians and civil aviation and has promised an equally serious response (National Post).
The Houthis say they are answering Saudi-led military action in Yemen and warn airlines that no Saudi airport except Mecca and Medina is safe (FinancialJuice, citing Fars).
Treat the Aramco damage as a claim until Saudi authorities or the company confirm it. Watch how many airlines resume Saudi routes after 17 October and whether Iran's mediation offer gets a reply.
DailyDrop Kenya edition No. 9 · Morning · TUE., OCT. 13, 2026