Dammam Airport Attack Toll Rises to Two as Flights Resume, and the US Orders Non-Emergency Staff Out of Saudi Arabia

The attack on Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport (DMM) on the evening of Wednesday, October 21, 2026, killed two people, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on Thursday morning. The authority also said operations at the airport had resumed and air traffic was back to normal.

GACA’s first statement, issued shortly after 1 a.m. local time on Thursday, had reported one resident killed and eight injured. The update raises the death toll after a further death was confirmed.

What GACA’s update says

The two people who died were a Saudi citizen and a resident of Indian nationality, GACA said in its follow-up statement, published by Saudi outlets Sabq and Ajel at about 9:40 a.m. local time.

The number of injured stayed at eight: one Saudi citizen, two Indian residents, two Yemeni residents, two Bangladeshi residents and one Nepali resident. Their injuries range from minor to serious, and they are being treated in several hospitals, the authority said.

India’s embassy in Riyadh, citing Saudi authorities, said one Indian national was killed and two were injured, Gulf News reported. That matches GACA’s breakdown.

GACA said it is still assessing the damage together with the security agencies. As in its first statement, it did not say what struck the airport, which part of it was hit, or who was responsible.

What it means for flights at Dammam

GACA’s “back to normal” statement does not mean a clean schedule. At about 5 p.m. local time on Thursday, FlightAware counted 14 cancellations and 57 delays at King Fahd International for the day, without saying how many of them were caused by the attack.

Some foreign airlines had dropped Dammam before Wednesday. Lufthansa’s Middle East schedule notice, updated on Thursday, still keeps Dammam suspended through November 30 and Riyadh through November 18.

Dammam has been one of the fallback routes out of the kingdom while Riyadh’s airport was shut. On October 18, India’s consulate in Jeddah pointed Umrah pilgrims to Saudia, flynas and flyadeal flights from Dammam to Indian cities, as Indian airlines kept their Saudi services suspended, Madhyamam reported.

Travelers booked through Dammam should check their flight with the airline before leaving for the airport. The US Mission’s October 21 security alert also notes that land crossings, including the King Fahd Causeway to Bahrain, remain open.

The US orders non-emergency staff to leave

On Wednesday, the State Department ordered the departure of “non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia only,” spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, Reuters reported. He cited Houthi attacks on civilian airports and other infrastructure in the kingdom.

Four US officials told Reuters that US missions in other Gulf states would also order family members to leave. Pigott did not address any changes outside Saudi Arabia.

The airport angle is direct. US government employees in Saudi Arabia already need special authorization from the Chief of Mission to use any airport in the country, the US Mission’s alert says, following the missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports.

For US airlines, the FAA’s advisory NOTAM telling operators to “exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia” runs until December 10, according to Reuters. The FAA’s Saudi caution notice warns of risk “at all altitudes” but is not a ban.

Why the revised toll matters

The attack comes as Riyadh’s King Khalid International is only starting to recover from strikes that have kept it closed or restricted since October 10. Dammam, the Eastern Province hub on the Persian Gulf near Bahrain, is far from Yemen, so a deadly strike there widens the area airlines have to weigh.

On Thursday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement that the group had struck King Fahd International Airport, one of four Saudi targets he said were hit with missiles and drones over 48 hours, dpa reported. Saudi officials have not said who they hold responsible, and GACA has not named the weapon.

GACA has said it will keep assessing the damage, so the details of what was hit may still change.