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Eyewitnesses described seeing an explosion inside Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on October 10, 2026, followed by multiple injured individuals on the ground, according to a Reuters report that also cited two people briefed on the matter. More than a dozen ambulances responded to the scene as travelers were evacuated from parts of the facility. The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announced the full suspension of airport operations in response to the blast. Flight tracking data indicated that all flights to the Saudi capital were either diverted or cancelled in the aftermath.
This latest incident follows two attacks on the airport Thursday that killed three Saudi nationals, including a Saudia pilot, and injured several others, the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement carried by Reuters and the BBC. Those strikes targeted airport facilities in one case and a Saudia aircraft on the ground in the other, causing material damage with injuries ranging from minor to severe. Saudi authorities reported that operations had returned to normal after the Thursday assaults before Saturday’s blast forced another closure. The General Authority of Civil Aviation had previously detailed similar casualties from strikes earlier in the week at Riyadh and Abha airports.
Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attacks using ballistic missiles, a statement reported across outlets including Reuters, the BBC and Al Jazeera. The Iran-aligned group has escalated strikes on Saudi infrastructure in recent days amid the kingdom’s support for Yemeni government forces in the renewed conflict. Saudi officials have confirmed the resulting deaths and injuries without always verifying the specific claims of responsibility. A Houthi military spokesperson asserted that one missile successfully hit the airport and disrupted air traffic.
Several international airlines including Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways cancelled flights to and from Riyadh citing the security situation, according to statements compiled by Reuters and BBC reporting. Aviation analytics firm Cirium data from earlier in the week showed nearly half of scheduled departures from the airport cancelled following the initial strikes. A hospital source told AFP that dozens were wounded in the Saturday attack, with one eyewitness recounting visible injuries at a domestic terminal gate and crowds running from the area. Western embassies warned citizens to avoid the airport.
The repeated attacks on Riyadh’s main airport and other facilities in Abha, Jazan and Najran have coincided with preparations for major energy and investment conferences in the Saudi capital, reports from Reuters noted. The Saudi government’s media office and civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest blast. Operations at the airport had demonstrated resilience after prior incidents, with air traffic restored within hours on Thursday according to state media updates.
