Riyadh Airport Struck Again: Western Embassies Tell Citizens To Stay Away

Several Western embassies in Saudi Arabia have advised their citizens to avoid Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport after it came under attack on Saturday, prompting the suspension of flights and an evacuation of parts of the facility.

Britain, Canada, Germany, Spain and the United States were among the missions that issued advisories urging their nationals to stay away from the airport and to follow local security instructions.

Spain's embassy said in a message on social media platform X that its alert followed a "new attack" by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement on the airport. Witnesses told the news agency AFP that an evacuation had been ordered.

A diplomatic source separately told AFP that the airport had been hit by a missile at around 1200 GMT.

Saudi authorities did not at first confirm a fresh attack or an evacuation on Saturday. Hours later, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said the airport "was targeted in an attack on Saturday afternoon, October 10, 2026, amid continued attacks targeting the kingdom's civil aviation facilities". The statement said the attack had left several people injured and that the number was still being assessed.

Earlier, a source at a local hospital told AFP that five people were in intensive care after being wounded at the airport, and that "dozens" had been hurt. These figures have not been confirmed by Saudi officials.

The United States embassy in Riyadh said it "strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas". Britain's foreign ministry urged its citizens "to avoid King Khalid International Airport until the airport is secure and to monitor the advice of the Saudi authorities".

One Western diplomat told AFP that several embassies were advising staff against using the airport for a week as a precaution.

Canada's embassy referred only to unspecified "ongoing military activity" affecting the airport, while Germany's mission cited "the current situation". France's embassy had urged French nationals on Friday to take "utmost care" in Saudi Arabia because of "strikes in recent days by the Houthis", and warned citizens not to record images of areas that had been hit or share them online.

Riyadh airport was also struck on Thursday in attacks claimed by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia has exercised tight control over public information about Houthi attacks on its soil in recent weeks, leaving media and residents unclear about the scale of the danger.

The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have opened a new front in the wider Middle East conflict, in which the United States and its ally Israel are arrayed against Iran. Saudi Arabia supports Yemen's internationally recognised government and has been providing military support in its fight against the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia has not released detailed information on the extent of the damage or on the total number of casualties beyond the aviation authority's statement. Because of restrictions on reporting from the area, some details in this account rest on unnamed diplomatic and hospital sources and on embassy advisories, and could not be independently verified.