SITREP, October 2026

Dear Reader,

This month airports were in the news more than usual. Houthi missiles and drones hit airports in Saudi Arabia, and a co-pilot attacked his captain on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. In Ethiopia, the war in the north has started again, and in France protests and strikes will slow travel in the coming weeks. Under each report you will find our advice on what to do.

The Month in Review

Asia & Middle East

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. The Houthis in Yemen are now attacking Saudi airports. On October 6 and 7, attacks on the airports of Abha, in the south, and Riyadh, the capital, killed three people and injured 36. On October 8 the Houthis said they had fired another missile at Riyadh airport. People heard explosions in the city, and diplomats were told to stay inside their embassies. Source: Al Jazeera Source: Euronews The Strait of Hormuz is still closed to ships. European air safety officials have extended their warning for the air over the Gulf until November 16. Several airlines, among them Air Canada, Finnair and Virgin Atlantic, will not fly to Dubai again before next year. Source: Al Jazeera Source: EASA Source: The National

Advice: For any trip through Saudi Arabia or the Gulf before mid-November, buy a ticket you can change and plan one way home that does not go through the region. Check in the airline app that your flight has not been cancelled before you leave for the airport. If sirens sound while you are inside an airport, follow the staff and keep away from windows.

United Arab Emirates and Israel. On September 30, the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked the captain in the cockpit. The plane fell about 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. The injured captain opened the cockpit door, and passengers got the co-pilot under control. Two other flydubai pilots who were on board as passengers landed the plane in Tabuk, in Saudi Arabia. The UAE is investigating whether it was an act of terrorism. Source: Al Jazeera Flydubai has stopped all flights to and from Israel for now. Source: The National

Advice: Israel has ordered more security checks on flights, so be at the airport three hours before departure. Before you book a flight to Israel through the Gulf, check on the airline's own website that it still flies that route.

Pakistan. Two bomb attacks hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province in the northwest on the border with Afghanistan. On September 18, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque inside a police headquarters in Kohat during Friday prayers. At least 31 people died, 16 of them police officers. Source: Al Jazeera A week later, a car full of explosives drove into a police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan and killed at least 12 people. Source: Al Jazeera The land border with Afghanistan has been closed since October 2025. Source: RFE/RL

Advice: Do not plan to cross between Pakistan and Afghanistan by land. In the northwest, keep your stops at police posts short and do not wait near police buildings.

Nepal. In September we reported more than 1,000 dead after the glacier flood of August 26. Nepal now counts 1,453 dead and 5,285 missing, and 636 of the missing are foreigners. The search has stopped in areas where nobody is likely to be found. Source: Anadolu The trekking season has started. On September 27, an avalanche at the base camp of Himlung, a mountain near the Chinese border, killed at least 15 expedition workers. Source: Al Jazeera

Advice: Trek with a licensed agency that knows which trails and roads are open this week. Look at the government hazard map at bipadportal.gov.np before you set off, and make sure your insurance pays for a helicopter rescue.

Americas

Colombia. On September 21, security forces killed a leader of an armed group near Santa Marta, on the Caribbean coast. The group, the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN), answered with an "armed strike". Armed men forced shops to close, and vehicles were burned. Roads were blocked, among them the Troncal del Caribe, the coast road to Tayrona National Park. The government sent 500 soldiers and 600 police, and the group ended the strike on September 25. Source: Vanguardia Source: Telemundo

Advice: In Santa Marta, Tayrona or La Guajira, ask your hotel or tour operator each morning if the Troncal del Caribe is open. Do not drive it after dark. At a road block run by armed men, do not argue and do not try to drive through.

Mexico and the United States. Hurricane Polo hit Baja California Sur on the night of September 28 and the coast of Sonora the next morning. Hundreds of people had to leave their homes, and towns like Guaymas had floods and power cuts. Source: Mexico News Daily On October 8, Hurricane Isaias was moving towards the US Gulf Coast. A hurricane warning covered the coast from Ocean Springs in Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle. Source: National Hurricane Center

Advice: Until November 30, the end of the hurricane season, check the forecast at nhc.noaa.gov before any trip to the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean or Mexico's Pacific coast. When a hurricane warning covers your area, leave early, while flights are still running.

Africa

Ethiopia. The war in Tigray, in the north of the country, has started again. On September 23, fighters of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) took the airport of Mekelle, the main city of Tigray. Ethiopian Airlines stopped its flights to Mekelle, Axum and Shire. Forces on the government's side entered Mekelle again on October 4. Source: AP In the capital, Addis Ababa, three explosions were heard on the night of September 30, one of them near the defence headquarters. They came hours after the government banned all drone flights over the city, and it is still not clear what caused them. Source: AP

Advice: Do not travel to Tigray or Amhara, including Lalibela. Flights to the north can stop without warning, so confirm with the airline on the day you fly. In Addis Ababa, do not fly a drone and do not take photos near military sites.

DR Congo and Kenya. The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is still growing. In our September issue we reported 6,186 cases and 3,007 deaths. On October 2 the government counted 8,300 cases and 4,018 deaths in seven provinces. Source: Reuters via bdnews24 On October 6, Kenya confirmed its first case. A Kenyan man who lived in Congo travelled by road to Kampala in Uganda and then flew to Nairobi, where he died. Kenya is now looking for the 23 passengers and four crew members from his flight. Source: AP

Advice: After any stay in eastern Congo, take your temperature every day for 21 days and tell every doctor where you have been. If you get a fever in that time, phone a doctor before you go to a clinic.

Nigeria. A local herbal alcohol called "Monkey Tail" killed at least 48 people in Ondo State in September. Officials suspect it was mixed with methanol, a poison you cannot taste or smell. Some people lost their sight after drinking it. Nigeria has now banned alcohol sold in sachets and small plastic bottles. Source: AP via Gulf News

Advice: Drink only sealed bottles of known brands, from bars and shops you trust. If your eyesight goes blurred or you feel very sick after drinking, go to a hospital straight away and say what you drank. Methanol poisoning can be treated, but only if treatment starts early.

Europe

Ukraine. Russia keeps attacking power and transport in Ukraine as winter comes. On the night of September 29 to 30, missiles and drones killed at least four people in and around Kyiv and cut power and water. Source: Euronews From October 1, drones hit the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro river in Kyiv several times, and it was closed to all traffic. Source: Euronews On September 13, a drone hit the engine of the train from Kyiv to Warsaw, about 2 kilometres from the Polish border. Nobody on the train was hurt. Source: United24

Advice: In Kyiv, choose a hotel with its own generator, and ask where the shelter is when you check in. Keep water, a power bank, a torch and some cash in your room. Plan an extra hour for any trip across the river.

Poland and Lithuania. On September 15, NATO jets shot down a drone over central Lithuania, near Kaunas. It most likely came from Belarus. Source: Brussels Signal On September 23, a Russian military helicopter flew into Polish airspace for 42 seconds. Source: Meduza Poland's prime minister told parliament that Russia plans drone and missile strikes on eastern NATO countries and will call them accidents. He said this comes from intelligence reports. Poland now closes parts of its eastern airspace more often when Russia attacks Ukraine. Source: Notes from Poland

Advice: For flights to eastern Poland or to Vilnius, book a flight you can move to another day. Do not plan an important meeting on the day you land. Check your flight the evening before.

France. For several weeks, high school and university students have protested across France for better schools. On October 6, about 86,000 people marched in the morning alone, in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nantes and other cities, and about 1,800 of France's 3,700 high schools were blocked or closed. There were frequent clashes with riot police, who used tear gas. More than 6,000 people have been arrested, almost all of them teenagers. Source: The Guardian via Irish Examiner More is planned. On Saturday, October 17, a nationwide protest is called in town centres and at roundabouts. From October 17 to 21, pilots and cabin crew plan to strike, so Air France, Transavia, easyJet and some foreign airlines may cancel flights. From October 21, truck and coach drivers want to block the roads in and around Paris, possibly for several days. Source: Connexion

Advice: In French cities, keep away from marches and blocked schools, especially where police are present. If you fly between October 17 and 21, check your flight in the airline app every day from October 15, and ask for another flight or your money back if it is cancelled. Around October 21, expect long delays on the roads into Paris and take the train where you can.

Getting Through a Checkpoint

In many countries you will pass checkpoints run by the police or the army. Most of them take a few minutes. Some are run by armed groups or criminals, as on the roads around Santa Marta this month. In Pakistan, a checkpoint was itself the target of a bomb.

Before you leave, ask your driver or a local contact who controls the roads on your route and what a normal checkpoint looks like there. Keep your passport, visa and vehicle papers where you can reach them without searching. Put a little cash in a separate pocket, away from your wallet.

When you see the checkpoint, slow down early and stop where you are told. At night, dim your headlights and switch on the light inside the car, so the guards can see who is sitting in it. Take off your sunglasses, turn off the music and open the window. Keep your hands where the guards can see them. One person speaks for the whole car, usually the driver. Answer questions briefly and politely, and never film or take photos.

Most officers at a checkpoint are just doing their job. Be patient and do not argue. If an officer asks you to pay a fine or a fee, ask for a receipt, and do not pay if you cannot get one. Watch for signs that a checkpoint is not official: no uniforms, no marked vehicles, a road blocked with burning tyres, or men who are drunk or very young. If you see this from far away and can turn around safely, turn around. If you are already there, stay calm and follow their instructions.

Do not stay near a checkpoint longer than you need to. After you pass, send a short message to someone who knows your route.

Community Q&A

"Can border officers look through my phone, and how should I prepare it before a trip?"

Yes, in many countries they can. In the United States, for example, officers can ask you to unlock your phone. If you refuse, they can keep it for some time, and they can refuse to let a foreign visitor into the country. Most travellers are never asked, but it is worth preparing anyway.

1. Back up your phone before you go, so you lose nothing if it is kept or broken.

2. Delete the apps and files you will not need on this trip, and log out of work email and cloud storage. Keep confidential client or patient data off the phone and open it only after you arrive, through your company's secure system.

3. Switch off face and fingerprint unlock before you reach the border, so the phone only opens with your code.

4. Do not delete too much. A phone with nothing on it looks strange and can lead to more questions.

5. If your phone was taken away from you, change your passwords afterwards to be safe, ideally from another device. You do not know who had access to it or what was copied.

Have a question? Just reply to this email.

From the Team

From the archive: The Safety Huddle No. 32. In this episode Nikki Burgett talks with Inga about violence prevention. Nikki's view is that violence is more predictable than most people think. With training, awareness and the right mindset, you can act as your own first responder. It runs 19 minutes. Listen on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Stay safe out there,
Inga Faust, Co-Founder, FOXPEDITION™