Stories
Saudi Arabia Flight Chaos Leaves Thousands Stranded Following Houthi Attacks
- •Almost 1,500 flight cancellations were recorded across three major Saudi airports in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam following deadly attacks attributed to Yemen's Houthi rebels.
- •Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport suffered the heaviest impact, with 98 per cent of scheduled services cancelled on Sunday and massive disruptions continuing into Monday.
- •Religious travel has been severely affected, leaving numerous Umrah pilgrims stranded at airports, including around 500 Bangladeshi nationals.
- •International carriers such as Etihad Airways, Emirates, flydubai, and Lufthansa extended flight cancellations and suspended routes connecting the kingdom with the UAE and Europe.
- •The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety advisory urging US operators to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia due to ongoing military activity.
Key Questions Answered
Flight disruptions heavily impacted three major Saudi hubs: Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport recorded hundreds of cancellations, Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport reported over 100 cancellations, and Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport listed dozens more.
Airlines across the region and globally revised their schedules, with carriers like Etihad Airways, Emirates, and flydubai extending flight cancellations on routes connecting the UAE to Saudi destinations through mid-October. Additionally, Lufthansa suspended flights to Riyadh through October 16, and the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety advisory urging caution.
The attacks and subsequent cancellations left numerous religious travelers stranded at airport terminals, including around 500 Bangladeshi passengers stuck in Riyadh and an Indian IT professional from Hyderabad who tragically died after sustaining severe injuries from falling missile debris at the airport.
