Many feared wounded in Saudi airport blast, travellers evacuated

Smoke and flames rise from King Khalid Airport, after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS

Several people were wounded in a blast at Riyadh’s international airport in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, according to eyewitnesses and people briefed on the incident, Reuters reported.

Travellers were evacuated from parts of the facility following the explosion, which left multiple people injured, according to two eyewitnesses and two people briefed on the matter.

One eyewitness said they saw an explosion and subsequently found several people lying injured on the ground inside the airport.

More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the airport, Reuters reported.

The Saudi government’s media office and the country’s civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.

The blast came amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh airport had already been attacked twice earlier in the week, leaving four people dead, others wounded and an aircraft badly damaged, according to Reuters.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point.

• Man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over Facebook comment
• US warns citizens in Saudi Arabia over Houthi airport threats
• Three dead, 36 wounded as Houthi attacks hit Saudi airports

The airport urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check their flight status before travelling there.

Kuwait Airways said it had cancelled flights to and from the Saudi capital because of what it described as the airport’s closure due to the “security situation”.

Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways had also cancelled several flights between their respective hubs and Riyadh, with some cancellations extending into Monday.

The attacks have disrupted air travel ahead of major energy and investment conferences scheduled to take place in Riyadh.

Organisers said on Saturday that the conferences would proceed as planned and sought to reassure attendees about security.

The Houthis have urged airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.

Tosin Oyediran is a journalist with Punch Newspapers, bringing over eight years of newsroom experience to his coverage of politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment. Known for sharp interviews and human-centered reporting, his work focuses on public accountability, civic issues, and the stories shaping everyday lives.