MYAVIATION MAGAZINE | INTERNATIONAL NEWS
23 October 2026 | Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco instructed remaining personnel at its headquarters in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia, to evacuate and work remotely on Thursday, 22 October, according to Reuters, citing six people familiar with the matter.
AFP separately reported that essential personnel who had remained on-site were instructed to work from home until further notice. Non-essential employees had already been working remotely following an earlier attack on the headquarters complex.
Residential areas within the Dhahran compound were not included in the latest evacuation order, according to AFP. No specific reason was given for the instruction, and Aramco had not publicly commented at the time of reporting.
The development followed an attack on King Fahd International Airport in nearby Dammam on 21 October, which killed two people and injured eight others. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation subsequently confirmed that airport operations had resumed and air traffic had returned to normal.
Separately, the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting drones over Riyadh and Madinah on Thursday. Yemen’s Houthi movement also claimed responsibility for attacks targeting Saudi facilities, including energy infrastructure and the Defence Ministry in Riyadh. Saudi authorities had not confirmed all the claims.
The developments highlight continuing security concerns affecting critical infrastructure across Saudi Arabia. However, no direct disruption to commercial aviation resulting from the Aramco headquarters evacuation has been established.
The duration of the remote-working arrangements and their potential impact on Aramco’s operations remain unclear.
