Dammam’s King Fahd Airport under attack

One person died and eight more were hurt late Wednesday when King Fahd International Airport in Dammam came under attack, Saudi authorities said. The airport serves the Eastern Province, a hub many people travelling between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia pass through.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) confirmed the death of an expatriate resident and said the eight injured people suffered wounds ranging from minor to severe. All were rushed to local hospitals for treatment. This comes just weeks after a similar attack hit Riyadh’s main airport, where the toll eventually rose to 12 dead and over 300 hurt.

What happened at the airport

GACA, the body that runs civil aviation in Saudi Arabia, said specialised technical teams are now carrying out a full check of the damage to the airport’s buildings and passenger areas. No timeline was given for when this check will finish.

Saudi civil aviation and security agencies said safety procedures remain active at every airport in the country. They promised more updates once the site inspections are done.

GACA did not give the nationality of the person who died, only describing them as an expatriate resident. The source report gave no further details on how the attack happened or who was behind it.

Why this keeps happening

This is not an isolated case. Saudi Arabia has seen several attacks on its aviation infrastructure in October alone. As we reported on 11 October, the attack on Riyadh airport left 12 dead and over 300 injured, including a Saudia pilot and travellers from India, Sudan, Morocco and Algeria. Days before that, on 7 October, three people were killed and 36 hurt in attacks on Abha and Riyadh airports.

A group had already warned of more attacks on Saudi airports, and the region has also seen drone activity near oil facilities, including a drone intercepted near the Shaybah oil field just this week. Saudi authorities describe all this as part of heightened regional security tensions, with repeated attempts to target civilian aviation sites across the Kingdom.

What this means if you’re in Kuwait

Many people in Kuwait, both citizens and expats, travel through Saudi airports for work, pilgrimage or family visits. If you have a flight booked through Dammam or any other Saudi airport soon, it’s worth checking with your airline before heading to the airport.

During the Riyadh attack, airlines told travellers to confirm their flight status directly, and flight bans for some routes were extended for days afterwards. The same could happen again here, though nothing has been announced for Dammam flights yet.

You can find more international news updates on our site as this story develops.

No further details on the cause of the attack or who carried it out have been released. We’ll update this article once GACA shares the results of its inspection. If you’re flying through Saudi Arabia soon, has your airline reached out with any updates? Let us know in the comments.