Airlines cancel flights to Riyadh after Houthi attack on airport

Riyadh: Airlines are canceling flights to Riyadh after the Houthis struck two airports in Saudi Arabia in recent days, killing three people and injuring dozens.

Singapore Air postponed the launch of its services until March 28, citing the conflict in the Middle East. Philippine Airlines canceled flights to the capital until at least Oct. 11.

Saudia, the country’s national carrier; Egyptair; Indigo; and Air India Ltd. canceled dozens of flights out of Riyadh on Thursday in the aftermath of the attacks.

Operations at King Khalid International Airport have shut down for several hours and restarted multiple times during the past few days as incoming attacks from Yemen make it unsafe for planes to land or take off from there. Abha airport in the southwest also came under fire.

Last week, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. extended cancellation of its flights to Dubai and Riyadh through Jan. 31. 

Several American and European carriers still avoid flying to the Middle East since Iran started targeting countries in the Gulf earlier this year. 

Disruptions over large swaths of the region have become common since the start of hostilities between Israel and neighboring nations three years ago. During that time, Saudi Arabia’s airspace has become a vital corridor for flights diverting from riskier skies over Iran, Jordan, Iraq and Syria.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport is seeing significant flight disruption on October 8, with 169 of 378 scheduled departures cancelled or not operating as of 4:25pm local time, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.

That represents 44.7 per cent of all scheduled departures from Riyadh today. Arrivals are also affected, with 124 of 369 scheduled inbound flights cancelled or not operating, equivalent to 33.6 per cent.

Saudia hit

Saudia is experiencing the largest disruption by volume, with 97 of 140 scheduled departures cancelled or not flying — about 69.3 per cent of its Riyadh departures.

For inbound services, 87 of 136 scheduled Saudia flights, or 64 per cent, were cancelled or not operating.

Flynas had 30 of 91 scheduled departures affected, or 33 per cent, while Flyadeal recorded 20 cancellations or no-fly services from 54 scheduled departures, equivalent to 37 per cent.

Riyadh Air had two of 15 scheduled departures affected, or 13.3 per cent.

International impact

Several international airlines are also reporting disruptions from Riyadh.

All four scheduled Turkish Airlines departures from Riyadh were listed as cancelled or not operating, while Qatar Airways had three of eight departures affected. EgyptAir had two of four departures affected and Oman Air one of three.

flydubai had one of three scheduled departures affected, while Emirates and Etihad Airways each had three scheduled departures with no cancellations or no-fly services listed in the Cirium data.

Air India Express had both of its scheduled departures cancelled or not operating, while Air India had one of two affected. SriLankan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Yemenia and AJet each had their single scheduled departure affected.

Arrivals

The disruption is also visible on inbound services, although the cancellation rate is lower than for departures.

Saudia had 87 of 136 scheduled arrivals affected, while Flynas recorded 13 cancellations or no-fly services from 88 scheduled inbound flights. Flyadeal had five of 54 affected and Riyadh Air two of 15.

Among international carriers, Turkish Airlines again had all four scheduled arrivals affected. EgyptAir had two of four, while Gulf Air had one of five and Flydubai one of three.