The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has widened its advice against travel in Saudi Arabia for the second time in four days. Its change note of Sunday 11 October says it now also "advises against all but essential travel to the cities of Jeddah and Dammam, and to all airports in Saudi Arabia except for Medina International Airport". The change follows a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday 10 October that, according to UN News, Saudi authorities say killed 12 people and wounded more than 300.
What changed
On 8 October the FCDO's change note said it now advised against all but essential travel to Aseer, Riyadh, Najran and Jizan provinces and to Taif city and Taif International Airport. The list on the Warnings and insurance page now has three lines: all travel to within 10km of the border with Yemen; all but essential travel to Aseer, Riyadh, Najran and Jizan provinces and the cities of Taif, Jeddah and Dammam; and all but essential travel to all airports within Saudi Arabia except Medina International Airport. Outside the 10km border strip this is all but essential advice, not advice against all travel.
What the FCDO says
The FCDO tells British nationals who want to leave that, as an alternative to Saudi airports, they "should consider options to travel by land to one of the following countries and fly from there", naming Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan. It adds: "If travelling by car, the vehicle must be wholly owned and registered in your name." and "Travel within or out of Saudi Arabia is at your own risk." It still advises British nationals to avoid King Khalid International Airport "until the airport is secure", and its existing paragraph on Houthi attacks says: "Further attacks against airports are very likely."
What the UN reports
UN News reports that Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack in a short statement issued late on Saturday, saying attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international law. "These attacks must cease immediately," he said. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said on Sunday that 309 people were wounded, some critically. UN News says the dead include at least four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and a US citizen, plus people from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, and that operations were suspended and flights diverted.
It was the third Houthi attack on the airport that week. UN News says Thursday's strikes killed three Saudis, including a Saudia pilot. Late on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported that another projectile had hit a passenger terminal at the Riyadh airport, causing further injuries and a fire.
What is disputed
Houthi media reported that the airport in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, was hit by an airstrike on Sunday and blamed Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials and the Yemeni government say they have regained control of the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea; the Houthis deny it. UN News attributes both accounts to the parties. At the Security Council on Friday 9 October, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said Yemen had slid back into full-scale war.
What it means for operators
These are Ops Con planning points, not FCDO guidance. With every Saudi airport except Medina now inside an advise-against area, and Jeddah and Dammam added to the list, confirm in writing that travel, medical evacuation and any kidnap and ransom cover still apply before the next Saudi task.
Do not build a departure plan on a single airport or a single border. The FCDO's own Bahrain page notes that "in April 2026 there was simultaneous closure of airspace and the King Fahd Causeway to Saudi Arabia", so an overland exit to Bahrain can close at the same moment as the airspace. Hold a second land route, check the entry requirements of each destination country in advance, and note the FCDO's rule that a car used to cross must be wholly owned and registered in the traveller's name, which may rule out hire vehicles.
Treat airport arrivals and departures as the highest risk phase of any movement. Keep time at terminals short, follow Saudi Civil Defence alerts, and brief the whole party on sheltering from falling intercept debris.
