What happened at the Saudi Airport?

There are actually two very different recent stories involving Saudi airports, so let me give you both, with the most recent first.

Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports (October 2026)

The biggest and most recent story: between October 6 and 11, the Houthis in Yemen launched a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks on Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing 19 people and injuring over 350, and leading to the suspension of King Khalid's operations.

They were the deadliest attacks in the country since the mosque bombings in May 2015, and the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab state since the beginning of the 2026 Iran war.

The attacks escalated across several days:

• On October 6 and 7, a combined missile and drone attack killed one Sudanese national and injured 8 civilians at King Khalid International Airport, while Abha International Airport was also struck, killing two women from Algeria and Morocco and wounding 28 others.
• On October 8, three people including a Saudia airline pilot were killed at King Khalid International Airport, with Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirming the deaths.
• On October 11, at least 12 people, including one American, were killed and 309 others injured in a strike on King Khalid International Airport. Those killed included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
• Most recently, a projectile struck the same airport again on Sunday, killing one Pakistani resident and injuring 11 more, with the injured transferred to several hospitals.

King Khalid International Airport remains closed until further notice, with a notice to air missions indicating it would stay shut until at least October 17.

A Houthi military statement warned all airlines and travelers against using Saudi airports and airspace, calling them "vulnerable to targeting," with the exception of Mecca and Medina airports.

President Donald Trump said he planned to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the attacks.

A separate, earlier incident: the flydubai cockpit stabbing

This is a different story from the same period. A flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a violent attempt by the co-pilot to seize control of the aircraft and crash it. The plane diverted to Tabuk, where there is a civilian airport adjacent to a Saudi military base. Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed while helping to thwart the apparent hijack attempt, is being hailed as a hero back home. I covered this in full in an earlier answer above if you want the detail.