This screen grab taken from CCTV footage released by the Saudi Media Ministry on October 11, 2026, shows the moment King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was hit by a Houthi strike | Photo Credit: AFP
Saudi authorities on Monday (October 12, 2026) extended the suspension of operations at Riyadh’s international airport following a series of deadly Houthi attacks.
Strikes on the airport last week killed at least 18 people, including 13 on Saturday (October 10) in the deadliest attack on the country in more than a decade, which also left hundreds wounded.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation in a statement “announced the extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport”.
It said the extension was needed to “complete the necessary procedures to verify the safety of the facilities and their operational readiness”.
The authority did not specify when operations would resume.
A senior aviation source who oversees flights to the Gulf for an airline said operations would be halted for the remainder of the working week in Saudi Arabia, according to messages sent to the carrier on Monday (October 12) from Saudi aviation authorities.
“They told us it would be until at least Thursday (October 15). There are no flights until the end of the week,” the source told AFP.
A senior official from the Riyadh Metro also told AFP that authorities had suspended transport services to three stations serving the airport.
Published - October 12, 2026 06:40 pm IST