Riyadh airport flights broadly back to normal after days of disruption from Houthi attacks
In short
Flights at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport were suspended for more than an hour on Wednesday morning after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and delays and cancellations continued into Thursday and Friday, The National reported. Drone and missile strikes on King Khalid and Abha international airports killed three people and injured 36, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. By Friday, flights from 8am were broadly projected to depart on time, according to Flightradar24 data cited by The National.
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Flights at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport were suspended for more than an hour on Wednesday morning after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, with disruption continuing into Thursday, The National reported. By Friday morning, services were slowly normalising, and flights from 8am were broadly projected to depart on time, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. [ 3 , 8 ]
Drone and missile strikes on King Khalid International Airport and Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia killed three people and injured 36, according to the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation. Gulf News reported that the attacks were claimed by the Houthis and that Saudi-led forces subsequently said they had struck 82 Houthi military sites in Yemen. On Thursday, the Houthis claimed they had launched a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport; Gulf News said the claim had not been independently confirmed by Saudi authorities. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
As of Thursday morning, Flightradar24 reported 58 delayed departures, or 15 per cent of scheduled services, and 11 cancellations at Riyadh, with an average departure delay of 45 minutes and a disruption index of 4.2 out of five, a level the platform classifies as major disruption. Saudia's SV311 to Cairo was delayed by more than two hours and Yemenia's IY533 to Aden by more than three hours, while Saudia's SV562 to Dubai and Turkish Airlines' TK145 to Istanbul were cancelled. For Thursday, The National reported a total of 164 delays (42 per cent) and 167 cancellations (43 per cent). On Friday, 63 flights had been delayed and 44 cancelled since midnight. [ 3 , 8 ]
Cancellations listed on Friday included Emirates flight EK820 to Dubai, which is listed as scheduled for Saturday, and flydubai flight FZ848, which is scheduled to resume on Saturday. Air India flight AI2214 and IndiGo flight IGO74 to Mumbai, and Air India Express flight IX896 to Bengaluru, were also cancelled. [ 8 ]
Philippine Airlines cancelled flight PR654 from Manila to Riyadh on October 8 and the return PR655 on October 10 "in light of the developing situation in the region," the airline said. It said its operations teams were assessing airport conditions, and Gulf News reported that it had not yet announced whether later flights would be affected. The cancellations came only days after the airline had resumed Riyadh services, Gulf News reported. [ 4 ]
Forbes Middle East reported that Abha and King Khalid international airports were targeted in attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, following earlier attacks on King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Najran international airports this month. [ 7 ]
Why it matters
The disruption hit flights operated by several carriers, including Saudia, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, flydubai, Air India, IndiGo and Philippine Airlines. Gulf News reported that Philippine Airlines cancelled Riyadh flights only days after resuming the route, and said the escalation is also affecting the wider aviation environment.
Key facts
- Flights at King Khalid International Airport were suspended for more than an hour on Wednesday morning after Houthi attacks, with disruption continuing into Thursday. [ 3 , 8 ]
- Drone and missile strikes on King Khalid and Abha international airports killed three people and injured 36, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. [ 3 , 4 ]
- On Thursday, the Houthis claimed they had launched a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport; Gulf News said Saudi authorities had not independently confirmed the claim. [ 2 , 4 ]
- Flightradar24 counted a total of 164 delays (42 per cent) and 167 cancellations (43 per cent) at the airport on Thursday. [ 8 ]
- On Friday morning, 63 flights (18 per cent) had been delayed and 44 cancelled (13 per cent) since midnight, with flights from 8am broadly projected to depart on time. [ 8 ]
- Philippine Airlines cancelled flight PR654 from Manila to Riyadh on October 8 and the return PR655 on October 10. [ 4 ]
- Saudi-led forces said they had struck 82 Houthi military sites in Yemen after the attacks. [ 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Attacks on Riyadh and Abha airports killed three people, according to Saudi authorities. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Flights at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport were disrupted after Houthi attacks. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 ]
- Airlines cancelled flights to and from Riyadh following the attacks. [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
Still unclear
- Whether a ballistic missile struck King Khalid International Airport on Thursday, as the Houthis claimed. Gulf News reported that the claim had not been independently confirmed by Saudi authorities.
- On which days the airports were attacked. Forbes Middle East said Abha and King Khalid airports were targeted on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Gulf News placed the attacks that killed three people on Wednesday.
- Whether Philippine Airlines flights after October 10 will be affected. Gulf News reported that the airline had not yet announced this and was assessing airport conditions.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- October 8: The National reports Riyadh airport flight disruption as the Houthis renew attacks on Saudi Arabia. [ 1 ]
- October 8: The National reports Riyadh airport flights delayed and cancelled, citing Flightradar24 data as of Thursday morning. [ 3 ]
- October 8: Gulf News reports Philippine Airlines has cancelled two flights between Manila and Riyadh. [ 4 ]
- October 8: Gulf News reports airlines cancelling flights to Riyadh after the Houthi attack on the airport. [ 5 ]
- October 8: Gulf News reports King Khalid airport warning of flight delays and cancellations. [ 6 ]
- October 9: Flights from Riyadh are broadly projected to depart on time from 8am Friday. [ 8 ]
- October 9: The National reports Riyadh airport flights broadly back to normal. [ 8 ]