Kuwait International Airport

Kuwait International Airport is Kuwait City's sole commercial hub, handling regional and international connections for over 10 million passengers a year in normal operation. It sits close to Ali Al Salem Air Base, one of two major US installations in Kuwait alongside Camp Arifjan, which has made it a recurring target once the wider conflict widened to Gulf infrastructure.

The airport has been struck at least five times since Iran expanded its campaign to Gulf infrastructure. A Shahed-136 drone hit Terminal 1 on 3 June 2026, killing one Indian national and injuring 63 people, the airport's most serious strike to date . Kuwait expelled two Iranian diplomats within 24 hours in response . An earlier Day-30 strike hit fuel storage tanks, sparking a large fire and forcing temporary flight suspensions, and a separate attack had already hit the airport's radar system.

The mid-June Islamabad Ceasefire gave the airport a period of calm, but it broke down within days over the Lebanon front and further US and Iranian strikes. By 18-20 July the airport was suspending takeoffs and landings again after fresh missile and drone attacks, with air defences intercepting targets and sirens sounding four times; Kuwait Airways rescheduled the bulk of its own flights while Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia and FlyDubai cancelled or cut UAE-Kuwait services, with operations recovering by the following Monday morning .