Asia-wide flight chaos after missile strike on Riyadh airport

Flight tracking data published on 10 October 2026 showed 671 cancellations and 3,479 delays across Asia and the Middle East, a total of 4,150 disruption instances, after Houthi missile strikes on 6-8 October on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. The attack killed three people, damaged a Saudia aircraft and forced a temporary closure of the hub. By 10 October the worst-hit airports were Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta (294 delays, 15 cancellations), Shanghai Pudong (165 delays, 10 cancellations), Riyadh itself (162 delays and 278 cancellations, a 40% cancellation rate) and Doha Hamad International (115 delays, 10 cancellations). Saudia logged 196 delays and 49 cancellations, Turkish Airlines 299 delays and 25 cancellations, Emirates 113 delays and 20 cancellations, and Qatar Airways 102 delays and 10 cancellations. Analysts said aircraft rotations knocked out of sequence at Gulf hubs rippled across the network, hitting Australia-bound travellers transiting through Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. The event was the day's single biggest travel disruption worldwide and dominated aviation coverage.