Riyadh airport to remain shut this week as airlines cancel services

Saudi authorities have extended the closure of Riyadh airport until 17 October after repeated attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.

Airlines have cancelled flights since a Saturday attack on King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.

Why is Riyadh airport closed?

The Saudi civil aviation authority suspended operations at King Khalid International Airport to “allow for the completion of procedures to ensure the safety and operational readiness of the airport’s facilities”. The suspension follows repeated Houthi attacks on Riyadh. A Notice to Airmen shows the airport will stay closed until 2100 GMT on 17 October.

Late on Monday, the Houthis said they had attacked the airport with a ballistic missile. This came shortly after Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the group towards Riyadh. The Houthis also said they targeted an airbase in Khamis Mushait in the kingdom’s southwest with a drone, but there was no immediate Saudi confirmation.

King Khalid is Saudi Arabia’s second-busiest airport after Jeddah. The airport has been shut since the attack on Saturday, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade. On Sunday, another attack killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others.

The attacks marked one of the most significant disruptions to Saudi aviation in years. They add to pressures on an industry already grappling with conflict across the Middle East and higher jet fuel prices that are eating into profits. They have also raised worries over civil aviation becoming a target in armed conflict.

Are flights to Saudi Arabia cancelled?

Air traffic tracker Flightradar24 showed planes avoiding the city on Monday, though jets were crossing Saudi airspace and landing at top hub Jeddah on the country’s west coast. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said cancellations across all Saudi airports reached 46.4%.

The disruption has forced airlines across Europe and Asia to suspend services. The Federal Aviation Administration advised US carriers on Sunday to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. EU aviation body EASA widened a Saudi airspace warning on Friday, citing missile and drone attacks.

Lufthansa Group has cancelled all flights to Riyadh until 16 October. Air France-KLM has extended a suspension to and from Riyadh until the end of the month. Delta Air Lines said it was delaying planned services from Atlanta to Riyadh, initially due to start on 23 October, until March 2027.

Etihad Airways said it had cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam due to “regional disruption”. It added that all flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh would be cancelled until 19 October. Qatar Airways said on Monday it had temporarily suspended flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam due to the “current situation”.

How are the attacks affecting airlines and the Saudi economy?

“This level of sustained intense attack on civil aviation is unprecedented,” said Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that provides aviation safety advice. “I think this requires us to rethink how we view the current risk picture, and tread very carefully,” he said.

OPSGROUP advised airlines to avoid the southern aviation corridor over the Middle East altogether and take a route from Europe to Asia over central Asia. That adds “extensive distance” for some routes and “closes off options for getting into Dubai, Abu Dhabi for most western carriers,” Zee said. “The impact goes beyond Saudi Arabia to the wider region and to its global connections,” said aviation analyst John Strickland.

The escalation with the Houthis has raised concerns over the broader economic impact. Saudi Arabia’s real GDP is projected to contract by 3.6% this year, reflecting a combination of factors including lower oil activity.

The attacks have put events scheduled in Riyadh this month under pressure. These include the kingdom’s flagship investment conference and the WPC Energy Congress, where several top oil executives were dropped from the program.