Indian carriers extend Riyadh flight cancellations following airport missile attack

UPDATE - follow-up to Air India, IndiGo cancel and divert Riyadh flights after missile threat: Indian airlines have extended flight suspensions to Riyadh after a missile strike damaged a parked aircraft at King Khalid International Airport on Thursday, October 8, 2026. A Saudia Airlines plane caught fire and sustained heavy damage from shrapnel following strikes claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, and Akasa Air halted services as more than 275 flights were cancelled at the airport, affecting forty percent of arrivals and thirty percent of departures according to FlightAware data. Air India confirmed that flight AI2243 from Delhi to Riyadh returned to the capital before being cancelled, with all flights to and from Riyadh suspended until October 10. The airline also evacuated its Riyadh-based crew to Dammam by road. IndiGo diverted a Hyderabad-to-Riyadh flight to Dammam on Thursday and scrapped services between Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Riyadh through Friday. IndiGo sources described the situation as still evolving. Akasa Air joined the suspensions, pausing its Riyadh flights until Saturday. Lufthansa also suspended its services to the Saudi capital until October 16.

Context

These flight suspensions follow coordinated missile and drone attacks by Houthi forces targeting Saudi infrastructure amid the ongoing regional conflict in Yemen. Major international aviation hubs frequently restrict operations and reroute aircraft when nearby airports face active security threats or missile interceptions.