Riyadh Airport Partly Reopens After Houthi Attacks: What Travellers Need to Check
· News Team
October 25, 2026 — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. King Khalid International Airport has begun a partial return to service after a shutdown linked to deadly attacks earlier this month. Its latest passenger advisory assigns Terminal 1 to domestic flights and Terminal 2 to international flights operated by Saudi national carriers from Sunday, October 25. The airport is urging passengers to check directly with their airlines before travelling; the terminal announcement does not guarantee that every scheduled flight is operating.
What the airport has confirmed
In an advisory published on October 24 by the airport’s official X account, the operator set out the new terminal assignments and asked travellers holding bookings to confirm flight status with their carriers. The changes apply from Sunday, October 25, according to reporting that reproduced the airport’s announcement, including Arab News and Anadolu Agency.
| Terminal | Announced service | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Domestic flights | Confirm the specific flight and terminal with the airline. |
| 2 | International flights operated by national carriers | Does not confirm a restart for every international or foreign-airline service. |
Why reopening is not the same as normal operations
The announcement comes after attacks on the airport on October 10 forced widespread disruption. Reuters reported that air traffic remained limited even as terminals began reopening. Yemen’s Houthi movement renewed threats against the airport, while Saudi officials said they intercepted additional projectiles and drones on Sunday. Those military accounts are attributed to the respective parties and are not independently verified here. See Reuters’ October 25 report and Associated Press coverage.
For passengers, the distinction matters: a terminal being open does not mean a particular aircraft, crew or route is ready to operate. Flight schedules can be changed independently by airlines, and foreign carriers may follow different safety assessments.
What passengers should do before heading to Riyadh airport
- Check the airline’s own flight-status tool using the flight number and date, rather than relying on the general reopening announcement.
- Verify the terminal against the latest boarding pass or airline message; do not assume pre-closure terminal assignments remain valid.
- Check official airport information at the King Khalid International Airport website and its terminal directory.
- Confirm any connection and applicable travel advice before setting off. A confirmed booking is not itself proof of an operating flight.
Video coverage and image verification
No freely embeddable, independently verified video showing the October 25 reopening itself was confirmed at publication. Earlier licensed footage of the October airport attacks or closure is not presented as video of today’s reopening. Readers can follow the airport’s official announcements for any current media updates; no unauthorized video has been downloaded or rehosted.
Related reporting
For the earlier security developments, see our October 10 airport report and October 24 Saudi missile-interception report. This update covers the new October 25 travel arrangements rather than repeating those earlier stories.
Editorial note: This report is based on the airport’s announced terminal assignments and contemporaneous Reuters, AP, Anadolu Agency and Arab News reporting. Security conditions and flight schedules may change quickly; travellers should rely on their carrier for operational decisions.
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