Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH) was attacked for a second time in just two days. On Thursday, October 8, 2026, we saw a Saudia Airbus A320 destroyed at the airport, based on an attack by the Houthis. Then just two days later, on Saturday, October 10, we saw a much worse attack on the airport, which killed 12 people, and injured hundreds.
I have to imagine that we’re getting to the point where global travel demand is shifting, and it’s not going to be good for Gulf carriers…
Houthis carry out massive attack on Riyadh Airport
On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the Houthis successfully bombed Riyadh Airport, killing at least 12 people, and injuring at least 309 people. This is of course an absolutely massive attack — my thoughts are with those who lost their lives and their families, and may those who were injured make a quick recovery.
This has been the deadliest terror attack in Saudi Arabia in over a decade, since 2015. The Houthis are targeting Saudi Arabia over the country’s support for government forces in Yemen’s reignited civil war. Saudi Arabia has called the attack a war crime.
Also on Saturday, we saw a projectile fall near Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport (DMM). As mentioned above, this all follows the October 8 attack on Riyadh Airport, which killed three people, plus the attacks on Saudi airports on October 6 and October 7, which also killed three people.
Are we reaching a turning point for Middle East travel?
It goes without saying that this has been a really rough year for airlines in the Gulf region, given the war between the United States and Iran, and the impact that has had on geopolitics in the region.
Earlier this year we saw attacks at Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH), Dubai Airport (DXB), Kuwait Airport (KWI), etc. Obviously this greatly impacted peoples’ willingness to travel through the region. But if you ask me, things have gotten significantly worse in recent times:
- We saw a flydubai pilot try to commit a terrorist attack with a plane, and fly it into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)
- We’ve now seen Saudi Arabian airports attacked over and over, leading to nearly 20 deaths, plus hundreds of injuries
When it comes to airlines in the Gulf region, historically they’ve succeeded in part because:
- They have hubs with great geography for connecting large population centers
- They’ve historically offered an amazing passenger experience, among the best in the world
- The Gulf hubs have largely been “artificially” safe for a long time, which is to say that they’re surrounded by some of the least stable countries and governments in the world, but through strategic alignment, they’ve been able to avoid too many issues
When you combine all the factors we’ve seen in recent times, I think carriers from the region are in deep trouble. I’ve gladly flown through Gulf carriers earlier in the year, and I can say with certainty that I of course wouldn’t be comfortable flying through Riyadh right now, and I’d also avoid other Gulf hubs.
I’m not even saying that in terms of the risk of possibly dying in an attack, but more just about peace of mind, not subjecting myself to operational issues, etc. Until things change materially, I won’t be traveling through the region. Period. And unfortunately I don’t expect things will change any time soon — once things start to unravel like this, it’s really hard to just go back to how things were.
I’m just in disbelief that Delta still claims it’s launching a route from Atlanta (ATL) to Riyadh in two weeks. Obviously that route isn’t going to launch at this point, and not even because demand for this flight has been virtually non-existent.
It sure seems like Delta and the Saudi Arabian government may be in some sort of a standoff regarding subsidies for the service, or something, where Delta wants the government to tell them not to launch the route, rather than Delta doing it proactively. I’m not sure if the agreement for subsidies works out differently based on who calls off the service, or what’s going on.
It’s the only explanation I can come up with when the airline still claims it’s moving forward with this. At this point, there’s no way Delta’s aircraft insurers or unions would allow this service to launch.
Bottom line
On Saturday, Riyadh Airport was attacked yet again, and in this case, it was the deadliest terror attack in the country since 2015. At least 12 people have died, and over 300 people have been injured, as the Houthis successfully struck the airport.
My thoughts are with those who lost their lives and their families. I also hope that those who have been injured make a quick recovery.
I unfortunately think we’re entering a new era of unrest in the Gulf region, and between this, the attacks we’ve seen on other airports, and even a flydubai pilot trying to commit a terror attack, I think many people will think twice about traveling through the region. When you combine all of these factors, I know I certainly will.
What do you make of this latest Riyadh attack, and the overall impact this will have on air travel demand through the region?
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