Briefs of October 2026
7 briefs
- Riyadh airport shut: Etihad cuts flights through 13 October
- Etihad, Emirates, flydubai and Air Arabia cancelled Riyadh flights on 11 October after King Khalid airport closed following a Houthi attack on 10 October.
- Schengen visa appointments from the UAE are now available only after 45 days for some countries and up to two months for others, travel agents said.
- US forces disabled the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Molica in the Gulf of Oman on 10 October after it ignored warnings and tried to run the blockade of Iran, CENTCOM said.
- Vessel hit by projectile 13 nautical miles off the UAE
- A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile about 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera, UAE, on 9 October, UKMTO said; a fire on board was put out.
- An Abu Dhabi court ordered a bank to refund a customer Dh92,854, clear his credit card debt and issue a no-liability certificate after it could not prove he agreed to the interest and fees.
- Dubai's Rental Disputes Center closed 2,350 tenant-landlord cases by amicable settlement from January to September 2026, worth Dh401 million, in six days on average.
- Dubai's RTA now sells digital Nol QR tickets in the Nol Pay and S'hail apps, valid on the metro, trams and buses in place of the single-use red paper ticket.
- UAE GDP fell 2.1% in Q2; first half still up 0.4%
- UAE real GDP fell 2.1% year on year to Dh476.9 billion in Q2 2026, leaving first-half growth at 0.4% (Dh961.9 billion), the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre said.
- Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said three Saudi citizens were killed in two missile attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid airport on 8 October that hit a Saudia aircraft and airport facilities.
- Iran has warned regional countries that any attempt to open new oil export routes would be treated as hostile, a senior regional official close to Tehran told Reuters.
- President Trump said on 8 October he had no intention of ordering attacks on Iran before the US midterm elections in November.
- Tanker hit 51 nautical miles off Qatar, west of Hormuz
- The tanker Acers was struck by multiple projectiles on 7 October about 51 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, Qatar, per Vanguard; UKMTO confirmed the attack and reported casualties.
- Wizz Air cancelled all flights to and from Abu Dhabi and Dubai for the winter season, 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027, citing longer routings under regional airspace restrictions.
- After Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia on 7 October, flydubai cancelled its Dubai–Abha services and Air Arabia its Sharjah–Abha flights on 7 and 8 October.
- Etihad Rail confirmed demand-based fares: Abu Dhabi–Dubai Comfort tickets now cost Dh39–59 and Premium Dh109–149, against launch fares of Dh39 and Dh109.
- Dubai Q3 home sales value down 47% to Dh72.6bn
- Dubai home sales totalled Dh72.6 billion in Q3 2026, down 47% on a year earlier, and transactions fell 38% to 34,000, according to Cavendish Maxwell.
- A Dubai Municipality circular lists more than 44 areas where buildings and villas may offer shared housing; on Sheikh Zayed, Jumeirah, Al Wasl and Bani Yas roads only family sharing is allowed.
- The tanker On Peace, owned by Dubai-based Onex, was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on 6 October; 12 of its 19 crew were injured and evacuated by Oman to Khasab.
- Hormuz: four tanker attacks disclosed on 5 October
- UKMTO issued notices of four tanker attacks and one IRGC threat to a vessel near Hormuz on 5 October; three of the attacks dated from 3 and 4 October.
- Dubai Police arrested two suspects accused of phone scams in which callers posed as staff of official and international bodies and got residents to send money abroad; losses were Dh11,877,532.
- Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said attacks on Jizan and Najran airports on 6 October caused three minor injuries; FlightRadar24 said Riyadh flights were on hold for a few hours.
- The UAE's economic partnership agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia) entered into force on 6 October, cutting or removing tariffs.
- Dubai's Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation will give priority to perishable food shipments at its ports, its chairman said, as berthing delays at some regional ports shorten produce shelf life.
- UAE firms raise prices at fastest pace since 2011
- UAE non-oil firms raised output prices in September at the steepest rate since May 2011, S&P Global's PMI survey showed; the index held at 55.3, unchanged from August.
- Wizz Air pushed the launch of its Abu Dhabi routes from Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Hungary from late October to 10 January 2027.
- Saudi Aramco set November Arab Light for Asia at $5 a barrel below the regional benchmark, from $2 in October, a six-year low, according to a Bloomberg survey.
- Yemen's government forces said on 5 October they seized positions around Bab al-Mandeb and Dhubab; the Saudi-led coalition said 100 fighter jets are involved in the offensive.
- Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipalities and Transport said phase one of the Dh2.85bn Mid-Island Parkway is on track for 2027, cutting Saadiyat to Reem travel from 25 to 10 minutes.