India has told its citizens in Saudi Arabia to remain indoors during aerial attacks and reconsider travel that could leave them stranded, as a rapidly widening Saudi-Houthi confrontation moves deeper into the kingdom and raises the prospect of another major escalation across the Gulf.

The warnings from the Indian Embassy in Riyadh have grown progressively more urgent over the past week. What began as advice to remain vigilant has expanded into instructions on what to do during an aerial attack, how to leave Saudi Arabia through neighboring countries and what Umrah pilgrims should consider before travelling.

𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄/𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝟏𝟓 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, 𝟏𝟕𝟎𝟎 𝐡𝐫𝐬.

➡️ In view of the prevailing situation, Indian nationals are reminded to continue following instructions issued by local authorities and stay indoors in case of aerial attack.

➡️ Filming, publishing, or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes the individual to legal liability, as per local rules.

➡️ Among the Indian nationals injured in Riyadh airport attack on 10 October, 2 are in ICU, 1 in HDU (High Dependency Unit), and 3 are in normal ward, while 1 person was discharged today.

➡️ Flight operations remain suspended at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Flight operations at Dammam, Jeddah, and Medina airports continue, with some disruptions.

➡️ Indian carriers (Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and IndiGo Airlines) have suspended flights to and from Saudi Arabia until Oct 17, 2026.

➡️ Saudia airlines continues to operate scheduled flights from Dammam, Jeddah, and Medina. Flynas is operating scheduled flights on the Dammam–Lucknow sector.

➡️ Indian nationals requiring urgent departure from Saudi Arabia may consider flights from neighbouring countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. However, the concerned individual/s would be responsible for obtaining the necessary visas to enter these countries.

➡️ Indian nationals planning to travel to Saudi Arabia, including for Umrah, are advised to be aware of the possibility of flight disruptions at short notice between India and Saudi Arabia due to the prevailing situation.

➡️ This advisory is issued in continuation of the previous advisories issued by the Embassy in recent days.

@MEAIndia @DDNewslive @CGIJeddah

— India in Saudi Arabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) October 15, 2026

Ambassador Vipul made the stakes unusually explicit in a video message released by the embassy Thursday, 15 October.

“In the current situation, it is important for everyone to remain calm and alert,” he said, telling Indians to stay indoors during an aerial attack. India, he added, stood “in complete solidarity with the people and leadership of Saudi Arabia.”

▶️ सऊदी अरब में रह रहे भारतीय समुदाय के लिए राजदूत का संदेश |

▶️ Ambassador’s message to the Indian Community residing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. https://t.co/cC67eM0ue3

— India in Saudi Arabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) October 15, 2026

The warning followed a succession of missile and drone attacks that have punctured a period of relative calm between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement and exposed the difficulty of defending civilian infrastructure against repeated, relatively low-cost aerial attacks.

Saudi-led coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said on Thursday that King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had been targeted 20 times between 1-11 October, involving 10 drones, four ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and two unidentified projectiles. The attacks killed 17 people and injured 333, according to the coalition.

المتحدث باسم قوات التحالف، اللواء الركن تركي المالكي: 17 وفاة و333 إصابة في اعتداءات مطار الملك خالد
#تقرير: بدر الربيعان https://t.co/QpxiP7OFjC

— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) October 16, 2026

Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia killed another three people and injured 28, the coalition said.

The heaviest loss of life came on 10 October, when an attack on King Khalid International Airport killed at least 12 people in the initial Saudi count and injured 309. Subsequent reporting put the death toll from that strike at 13. One Indian national, Mohammed Yousef Ali, was among those killed and 11 Indians were injured. Vipul and embassy officials attended Ali’s funeral in Riyadh on 12 October.

By 14 October, two of the injured Indians remained in intensive care, another had been moved from intensive care to a high-dependency unit and four were being treated in regular hospital wards. One more had been discharged, according to the embassy.

The Indian mission has opened round-the-clock control rooms and repeatedly asked citizens to rely on official information rather than circulate videos or unverified reports on social media. Its guidance reflects a security problem that has become harder to contain geographically.

Riyadh airport remains closed, while operations at Dammam, Jeddah and Medina have continued with disruptions. IndiGo has canceled flights to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Medina through 24 October. Akasa Air has extended its Riyadh suspension to 24 October and Jeddah suspension to 21 October.

The Consulate General in Jeddah has separately asked Indians planning Umrah pilgrimages to take the disruption into account and reconsider travel where necessary. People already stranded have been asked to provide passport, visa, airline and tour-operator details to consular control rooms.

Indians seeking an urgent way out have been told they may consider flights from Bahrain, Kuwait or Qatar, although they would need the necessary entry visas themselves.

The disruptions matter well beyond aviation.

Houthi strikes reach Saudi oil infrastructure

The confrontation entered a more dangerous phase this week when the fighting reached Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the center of the kingdom’s oil industry.

A strike on Saudi Aramco’s headquarters complex in Dhahran on 13 October caused a fire. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry described the fire as limited and said there were no casualties, while people familiar with the incident told Reuters that several floors were extensively damaged. Aramco operations continued and some employees were instructed to work remotely.

The Houthis subsequently said they had targeted Aramco installations in Dhahran and Riyadh, along with King Khalid airport, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. They warned workers, civilians and international companies to stay away from Saudi airports and oil installations.

That warning effectively seeks to impose an economic cost even when an attack fails to damage production. Airlines, insurers, contractors and international businesses have to price in the possibility that facilities once considered far from Yemen’s battlefield are now within reach.

Brent crude was trading around $106 a barrel on Thursday as the Middle East conflict continued to carry a geopolitical premium, while West Texas Intermediate was near $98. The oil market is already contending with disruptions arising from the wider Iran conflict.

Riyadh widens military response in Yemen

Riyadh has responded by sharply expanding operations inside Yemen.

Saudi-led forces said on Thursday they had destroyed 127 Houthi weapons-storage sites and launch platforms in mountainous areas. Earlier in the week, Saudi forces struck fuel depots and infrastructure in Sanaa, Dhamar and Hodeidah that the coalition said were being used to sustain Houthi military operations.

The Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has warned that the Houthis will face “consequences” for the attacks. Coalition officials say operations will continue until attacks on civilians, airports, ports and energy infrastructure stop.

The Houthis show no sign of accepting that demand.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday the group retained the right to respond until Saudi Arabia ended what it calls its aggression and blockade of Yemen. “Anyone who attacks our country should not expect us to salute him,” he said.

Hours later, Houthi missiles struck the Al-Maashiq presidential palace complex in Aden, seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Yemeni officials said Prime Minister Salem bin Breik and members of his government were safe, but security personnel were killed. The attack marked a significant expansion of the latest round of fighting inside Yemen itself.

The renewed war is also closing around Taiz, one of Yemen’s largest cities. The World Food Programme says it cannot reach more than 600,000 people there who depend on humanitarian assistance, including more than 200,000 women and children. More than 200,000 people have been displaced since the latest fighting began, while front-line hospitals have reported hundreds of casualties.

Regional governments rally behind Saudi Arabia

The attacks have generated increasingly explicit support for Riyadh from neighboring and regional governments.

UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan condemned the Houthi attacks during a call with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and said the Emirates supported Saudi measures to protect its security and stability. UAE leaders have also sent condolences to King Salman over those killed in the attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, meeting Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Wednesday, condemned the airport attack and said Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to attack Saudi Arabia or other regional states.

That assurance carries particular significance because the wider confrontation involving Iran has heightened Gulf concerns that missiles and drones could be launched from, or transit through, multiple regional theaters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has gone further, telling Mohammed bin Salman that Turkey would continue to stand with Saudi Arabia and condemning the Houthi attacks in the strongest terms.

“Turkey stands with Saudi Arabia and its Saudi brothers,” Erdogan said this week.

The crisis is already disrupting diplomacy. The European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council postponed their 24 October leaders’ summit in Riyadh, citing continuing Houthi attacks and the extended suspension of operations at King Khalid airport.

US and allies weigh deeper involvement

The most consequential outside decision could come from the US. President Donald Trump has spoken to Mohammed bin Salman and publicly condemned the Houthi attacks, describing the group’s behavior as unacceptable and saying Washington was considering how to respond.

Asked Tuesday what he had offered the Saudi crown prince, Trump declined to disclose details. He has accused the Houthis of seeking to push up oil prices and said he would not forget the attacks.

Britain has already provided an RAF Voyager refueling aircraft in support of Saudi defensive operations, telling Parliament it had completed 14 operational missions by this week. British officials have condemned the Riyadh airport attacks and reiterated support for Saudi Arabia.

The unresolved issue is whether support from Saudi partners remains defensive or moves toward direct participation in attacks against the Houthis.

That calculation is complicated by the Houthis’ ability to impose costs far beyond Yemen. Their missiles and drones threaten Saudi airports and energy assets, while renewed conflict around Bab al-Mandab adds another layer of danger to one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

A broader Western military campaign could reduce some Houthi launch capacity, but it could also widen a conflict already connected to the confrontation with Iran and increase threats to shipping, oil infrastructure and Gulf cities.

India seeks to protect citizens without widening its role

New Delhi has so far avoided entering that argument.

India condemned attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure and expressed solidarity with the kingdom, but its public statements have concentrated on civilian safety rather than apportioning responsibility for the wider conflict.

That restraint is consistent with India’s interests. It has deep strategic and economic relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies, longstanding ties with Iran, large expatriate communities across the region and a major dependence on uninterrupted Gulf energy and shipping.

The embassy’s language nevertheless shows how much the operating environment has changed.

On 8 October, Indians were told to remain “alert and vigilant” and stay indoors when necessary. By this week, they were being told what to do during an aerial attack, advised how to leave through neighboring states and warned that flights could disappear at short notice.

The immediate danger is not confined to Yemen or Saudi Arabia’s southern frontier. Missiles and drones have reached Riyadh repeatedly, struck near the heart of the kingdom’s oil establishment and forced international airlines, governments and businesses to change plans.

Saudi Arabia is retaliating, the Houthis are promising more attacks, and neither side is publicly preparing to step back.