Indian Embassy Issues Safety Warning During Saudi Arabia Attacks

India's embassy in Saudi Arabia has urged citizens to stay indoors and obey local rules following missile and drone attacks.

On Friday 16 October 2026, the Embassy of India in Riyadh issued an urgent safety warning for Indian citizens living in Saudi Arabia. The embassy told people to follow local orders and stay indoors during any aerial attacks. This warning came after Indian nationals were injured in a drone and missile attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on 10 October. Ambassador Vipul shared this information in a video message. Saudi rules make it a serious legal offence to film, publish, or share any information, photos, or videos about missiles, drones, and the places they hit. Flights at the Riyadh airport remain completely suspended. While flights at other airports in Dammam, Jeddah, and Medina are still operating, they face some disruption. Major Indian airlines have also suspended all their flights to and from Saudi Arabia until 17 October.

Why it matters

Millions of ordinary Indians live and work far from home in Saudi Arabia to send money back to their families. When a foreign nation faces a sudden military conflict, these workers and their worried relatives back home rely heavily on clear help and protection from their government. The embassy advisory tells citizens to obey local safety rules, but it cannot bring them home. Furthermore, Saudi laws treat the posting of strike videos as a crime, leaving citizens with very few ways to share what is happening. The suspension of Indian flights until 17 October means that people who urgently want to leave the country are completely stranded. They must wait helplessly to see when commercial airlines will finally be allowed to restart their regular services. Flights at Dammam, Jeddah and Medina are still running, with some disruption. Only King Khalid airport in Riyadh is fully shut. The embassy has not said how many Indians were hurt on 10 October. Families in India are waiting on that number.

Key facts

• The embassy in Riyadh advised Indian nationals to stay indoors and follow local safety orders during aerial attacks.

• Ambassador Vipul confirmed in a video message that Indian nationals were among the injured at the Riyadh airport.

• A Saudi-led military coalition reported that 20 attacks since 1 October have killed 17 people and injured over 330.

• Indian airlines have suspended flights to and from Saudi Arabia until 17 October, leaving travelers stranded.

• Saudi law makes it a legal offence to film, publish, or share information about missiles, drones, and impact sites.

What's next

Families of stranded workers now wait to see if commercial flights will actually resume after 17 October. At the same time, important questions remain about the safety and well-being of those affected. The Indian embassy has not yet published an official count of how many Indian citizens were killed or injured in the violence. People will be watching closely to see if the government releases those numbers, and how it plans to help the injured and the many workers who want to return home safely. Saudi law treats a video of a missile or a drone strike as a crime. That is why the embassy told people not to film impact sites or post them. Indian airlines have stopped Saudi flights only until 17 October. Whether a worker can fly home after that depends on the airport reopening, not on the advisory alone.