Riyadh Airport Closure Extended as Houthi Attacks Continue

Saudi authorities have decided to prolong the closure of Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport until October 17 following a string of attacks by Yemen's Houthis. Airlines have been forced to cancel numerous flights due to the ongoing violence, leaving the city's skies largely empty. The Saudi civil aviation authority stated that the suspension of operations aims to guarantee the safety and preparedness of the airport's facilities.

This comes after a Houthi assault on Saturday resulted in 13 deaths and over 300 injuries, making it the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade. Another attack on Sunday claimed the life of one person and injured nearly a dozen. The recurring violence has raised concerns about the vulnerability of civil aviation during armed conflicts.

Mark Zee, founder of the aviation safety group OPSGROUP, described the sustained and intense attacks on civil aviation as unprecedented. Flightradar24 data indicated that many planes were rerouting around the city on Monday, although some continued to fly over Saudi airspace and land at the Jeddah airport on the western coast. Cancellations at all Saudi airports reached 46.4 percent, as reported by aviation analytics firm Cirium.

This crisis has prompted airlines across Europe and Asia to halt their services, while the United States Federal Aviation Administration advised US carriers to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. Major airlines such as Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM, and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways have all suspended their operations to and from Riyadh.

Delta Air Lines announced that it is delaying planned services from Atlanta to Riyadh, which were initially scheduled to commence on October 23, until March 2027. The Houthis' attacks represent one of the most significant disruptions to Saudi aviation in recent years, exacerbating challenges faced by the industry amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and rising jet fuel prices.