After Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's Dammam airport targeted in Houthi attack

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed that King Fahd International Airport, located in the kingdom's Eastern Province, was targeted on Sunday evening, October 11.

In Short

• King Fahd International Airport in Dammam targeted on October 11
• Damage assessment and safety inspections ongoing, casualties unconfirmed
• Attack follows multiple strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid Airport killing 13

Saudi Arabia's airport crisis has widened beyond Riyadh. King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was targeted in a fresh attack on Sunday, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said. The announcement came shortly after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they had attacked the airport.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed that King Fahd International Airport, located in the kingdom's Eastern Province, was targeted on Sunday evening, October 11. The authority said inspections were underway but did not immediately disclose the extent of the damage or whether there were casualties.

Dammam, located about 410 km (254 miles) northeast of Riyadh, is the capital of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and a major industrial and commercial hub on the Arabian Gulf coast. The region is central to the kingdom's oil and gas industry and is home to key energy infrastructure. King Fahd International Airport serves as a major gateway to the Eastern Province, connecting it to domestic and international destinations.

"The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announces that in the evening of Sunday, October 11, 2026, corresponding to 30 Rabi' Al-Thani 1448H, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was targeted by an attack, amid continued attacks targeting civil aviation facilities in the Kingdom.

GACA clarifies that damage assessments and safety inspections of airport facilities are underway, in coordination with relevant authorities."

The latest incident follows a series of attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, including a strike on Saturday that Saudi authorities said killed 13 people and injured more than 300. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

HOUTHIS ATTACK SAUDI AIRPORTS

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised address on Sunday that the group was responsible for Saturday's attack on Riyadh's airport. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said an "unidentified projectile" had targeted Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, causing a fire. The civil aviation authority reported injuries and said damage assessments were continuing.

The coalition also said Saudi air defences had intercepted a cruise missile near the Riyadh airport.

The Houthis have also issued fresh warnings to airlines, airport workers and travellers, urging them to avoid Saudi airports. The warning adds to the uncertainty facing air travel in the kingdom, particularly after repeated attacks on Riyadh's main international airport. The airport has remained closed since Saturday's strike.

'WORSE IS YET TO COME,' HOUTHIS WARN SAUDI ARABIA

The airport attacks come amid a sharp escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has intensified its military involvement in recent weeks, launching air strikes against the group and supporting a counteroffensive by Yemen's government forces. The campaign followed the Houthis' seizure of strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.

The Houthis claimed on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 124 air strikes in Yemen over the preceding 24 hours, including attacks on the capital, Sanaa, and Saada, a stronghold of the group. The figure was a claim by the Houthis and was not independently verified in the supplied reports.

Yemen's Houthi-run foreign ministry warned that further Saudi military action would provoke a stronger response, invoking the principle of reciprocity.

"Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing," the ministry said in statements carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.

DOZENS KILLED IN REPEATED STRIKES

Sunday's strike was the fourth attack on Riyadh’s airport in a week. In Saturday's strike, Saudi authorities said those killed included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and nationals of the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.

India's embassy in Riyadh said on Sunday that an Indian citizen injured in the attack had died, taking the initial death toll of 12 reported by Saudi authorities to 13.

The two earlier attacks on the airport had killed four people. One of those strikes also caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.

With Dammam now also reported to have been targeted, the latest developments signal a dangerous escalation in the Saudi-Houthi conflict, with the war increasingly spilling over into civilian infrastructure and critical transport hubs. The extent of the damage at Dammam airport remains unclear.

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