Riyadh airport resumes flights: what Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 now mean for passengers

What the airport announced

In a passenger update posted on 24 October, the airport administration said Terminal 1 would be designated for domestic flights and Terminal 2 for international flights operated by national carriers at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, effective Sunday 25 October 2026. The announcement was presented as a resumption of operations from the airport's two terminals, after a closure linked to claims of attacks on Saudi sites.

The airport also advised passengers with confirmed bookings to contact their airlines to verify the status of their bookings and flights before heading to the airport. That advice is important because an airport being open and a particular flight operating are two different things, and airlines have been restoring services at different speeds.

What the Houthis claimed, and what is not established

The airport announcement came after claims by Yemen's Houthi rebels that they had targeted King Khalid Airport and other sites in Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree was reported as claiming attacks on the Riyadh airport, on Aramco facilities in Yanbu, on the Rabigh refinery and the East-West oil pipeline, and on other aviation and military facilities including Dammam, Najran and Khamis Mushait.

Those are claims by the group, not independently verified findings about each target, and they should be read that way. The same reporting also records a renewed Houthi warning against using King Khalid Airport, describing it as a military target and warning airlines, staff and travellers. A warning is a statement of intent and risk as presented by that group; it does not by itself establish that a particular flight is unsafe, and it does not replace an airline's or a government's own travel advice.

For Indian readers, the practical distinction is between the airport's terminal plan and the operating decisions of individual carriers. Passengers should check the airline operating their flight, not assume that a terminal announcement automatically restores their booking.

What this means for Indian passengers

Air India and Air India Express were reported as having suspended flights to and from key Saudi destinations because of the evolving security situation, with rebooking options or full refunds offered to affected passengers. According to the advisory reported in both source pages, flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam would remain suspended through 7 November, while services to and from Jeddah would remain suspended through 31 October.

That means a traveller booked to Riyadh or Dammam in late October should not travel to the airport on the strength of the airport's terminal announcement alone. The useful steps are to check the airline's own advisory for the route and date, confirm whether rebooking or a refund applies, and keep the airline's confirmation in writing. If a flight is shown as operating, the airport's advice still applies: verify the booking and the terminal before departure, because terminal allocations have changed.

Editorial disclosure

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