RIYADH, Monday, October 12, 2026 — Western and Asian governments issued sweeping travel warnings for Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Monday as a wave of Houthi attacks on the kingdom’s airports killed at least 14 people, injured hundreds and grounded a majority of flights across the country.
The US State Department urged Americans to reconsider travel to the kingdom, saying US government personnel now require special authorization to use airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Britain’s Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and every Saudi airport except the one in Medina, and warned British citizens to avoid Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport until it is safe. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a notice telling airlines to exercise extreme caution flying to or over Saudi Arabia, citing flight-safety risks and navigation-system interference, with the advisory remaining in force until December 10.
Advisories tighten across capitals
Australia told its citizens to avoid King Khalid airport entirely and urged Australians in Riyadh to “shelter in place,” according to reports. South Korea recommended that its citizens in Saudi Arabia leave the country unless they are on essential business and advised anyone planning to travel to the kingdom to cancel the trip. New Zealand urged its citizens not to travel to Riyadh’s main airport or the provinces of Najran, Jazan and Asir, while Canada issued an advisory against non-essential travel to any part of Saudi Arabia. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency advised airlines to avoid specified portions of Saudi airspace, citing the risk of attacks and falling debris.
The warnings followed five attacks on Saudi airports in less than a week — described by Reuters as the kingdom’s deadliest stretch of attacks in more than a decade.
Deadly weekend triggers the alert
On Saturday, a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and injured more than 300 — the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade, according to Saudi officials. A second projectile struck Terminal 4 of the same airport on Sunday, killing one person, believed by civil aviation authorities to be a Pakistani resident, and injuring 11 others. The Saudi-led coalition also reported a projectile falling near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, where a Reuters eyewitness on a taxiing aircraft saw the projectile strike the tarmac beside parked aircraft, sparking a fire.
Flights grounded, schools shut
The disruption has paralyzed Saudi airspace. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that 362 of 1,048 scheduled departures across Saudi Arabia — 34.5 percent — were cancelled or marked no-fly as of Monday morning, while Flightradar24 said 436 cancellations at Riyadh’s airport alone accounted for 64 percent of its scheduled services. Air India Express suspended its Riyadh services until October 14 and Air India until October 15; Etihad Airways cancelled selected flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah from October 11 to 13; and SriLankan Airlines halted all Riyadh services until October 18. Authorities in Riyadh ordered all schools in the capital to switch to distance learning for the entire week.
Region reacts
Qatar condemned the airport attacks as a “grave violation” of Saudi sovereignty, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the strikes “abhorrent.” US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, telling reporters: “We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
Yemen’s Houthis, who have claimed responsibility for the airport strikes, renewed their warning to airlines, travelers and airport workers to stay away from Saudi airports and airspace, except those in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, with the group’s foreign ministry warning that “worse is yet to come” unless Saudi Arabia halts its campaign in Yemen.
