Riyadh airport attack kills 12 and injures 309, disrupting UAE-Saudi flights and prompting residents to rethink travel plans

UAE residents and expatriates are reconsidering travel to and from Saudi Arabia after an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. The authority said all those injured were receiving medical care at hospitals; the dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.

Air links with the UAE have been disrupted. Etihad Airways cancelled eight flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh scheduled for October 11 and 12, while flydubai suspended its Riyadh service until October 14. Saudi Arabia kept the airport closed on Sunday following the attack. Flightradar24 had reported a 24-hour extension to the closure, although Saudi authorities had not formally confirmed that extension at the time of the initial report.

The uncertainty has affected personal and work plans. A 47-year-old Sri Lankan professional based in Riyadh, whose family lives in Dubai, postponed a planned weekend visit to avoid possible flight disruption interfering with his job. Riyadh-based freelancer William R. said he was reconsidering a trip to the UAE for work, including the Sharjah International Book Fair.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned attacks on the airport and a Saudia aircraft in a statement, calling them a violation of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to the Kingdom’s security, and reaffirmed the UAE’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

The 45th Sharjah International Book Fair is scheduled to run from November 4 to 15, 2026, at Expo Centre Sharjah.