Riyadh Airport Stays Shut Until Saturday After Houthi Attacks

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh will remain closed until Saturday, October 17, following missile attacks that have killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300. The Saudi civil aviation authority extended the closure to allow time for safety procedures. The airport has been shut since Saturday following an initial strike that killed 13 people, marking the deadliest attack in the kingdom in over a decade. Subsequent attacks killed one person on Sunday, while Saudi Arabia reported shooting down a ballistic missile directed at Riyadh on Monday night.

Flight Disruptions

Major global carriers, including Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM, and Delta, have cancelled, paused, or altered their flights to Riyadh, Dammam, and other Saudi cities. Data from the aviation firm Cirium cited by Gulf News shows that 56.84 percent of all flights leaving Saudi airports on Sunday—623 out of 1,096 departures—did not operate. At Riyadh specifically, 353 of 354 departures were grounded on Sunday. Across the broader period from October 8 to 13, 30.54 percent of all departures, totaling 2,018 flights, were cancelled.

Safety Warnings

International aviation bodies have responded with strict travel warnings. The US Federal Aviation Administration told American carriers to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency widened its airspace warning due to ongoing missile and drone attacks. Additionally, an airline safety advisory firm urged carriers to avoid the southern Middle East route and fly over central Asia instead. The International Air Transport Association condemned the attacks, stating that airports, planes, and passengers must never be targeted.

Context

Commercial aviation relies heavily on stable regional security to maintain complex international flight schedules and ensure passenger safety. When major hubs like Riyadh face prolonged closures, the ripple effects disrupt travel networks across multiple continents and force airlines to reroute thousands of flights. Such airspace restrictions highlight the vulnerability of civil aviation infrastructure during geopolitical conflicts.