Attacks on two Saudi international airports killed three people and injured 36 on October 6–7, 2026, the country's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed on October 7.

Yemen's Houthi fighters claimed responsibility for strikes on King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh and Abha International Airport (AHB) in the southwest. Both facilities sustained damage.

The casualties were civilians. Two women — one Moroccan, one Algerian — died at Abha, where 28 people were injured. A Sudanese resident was killed at King Khalid, where eight more were injured.

GACA said injuries ranged from minor to serious and that all the wounded went to hospitals. The authority is working with security agencies to assess the damage and protect passengers and airport employees.

How were the attacks carried out?

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group targeted King Khalid with drones and Abha with a combination of ballistic missiles and drones. The mixed weapons mix — ballistic missiles against a southern airport and drones against the capital's main hub — marks an escalation in reach.

The strikes followed attacks on two other Saudi airports earlier in the week. GACA said on October 6 that strikes on King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport (GIZ) in Jazan and Najran International Airport (EAM) the previous evening injured three people and caused property damage.

That brings the number of Saudi airports hit within a single week to four — RUH, AHB, GIZ and EAM.

What happened at Aden?

In neighboring Yemen, the internationally recognized government said Aden International Airport came under attack at dawn on October 7 as a civilian flight was on approach to land.

Yemen's foreign ministry accused the Houthis of using two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones in that attack. Aircraft, passengers and airport staff were present at the time, the ministry said.

The ministry called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to help strengthen protections for civil aviation — an appeal that puts the attacks squarely within the framework of the Chicago Convention's protections for civil aircraft and airports.

What does this mean for civil aviation?

The airport attacks come amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government.

The Houthis have warned civilian aircraft to keep out of Saudi airspace — a threat that directly targets commercial operations over one of the region's largest air traffic markets. King Khalid International serves as a primary gateway for the Saudi capital; Abha handles traffic for the southern region.

Four airports struck in one week, combined with an explicit warning to civil aircraft, raises immediate questions about route planning, overflight permissions and insurance exposure for carriers serving Saudi Arabia.

Neither GACA nor Saudi authorities have yet detailed the operational impact on flights at RUH or AHB, nor the extent of the facility damage. The involvement of ICAO, if it materializes, will determine whether the attacks trigger a coordinated international response on civil aviation protection. Until then, airlines operating in Saudi airspace face an active threat environment that the Houthi leadership has stated in explicit terms.