Lufthansa Group and three Indian airlines have suspended flights to and from Riyadh following renewed security concerns in the Middle East, after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the Saudi capital’s airport.
The German aviation group said on Thursday that its airlines would suspend services to Riyadh until October 16, citing what it described as “current developments in the Middle East”.
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, announced that it had cancelled all flights to and from Riyadh until October 9. Air India and Akasa Air also confirmed the suspension of their services to the Saudi capital until October 10.
Air India disclosed that a flight travelling from New Delhi to Riyadh returned to the Indian capital on Thursday following the developments. Akasa Air, meanwhile, cancelled two scheduled services.
The flight suspensions came after reports of a security incident at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, where smoke was seen rising from a stationary aircraft earlier on Thursday, according to a witness and three people briefed on the matter.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed they had struck the airport with a ballistic missile. However, there was no immediate confirmation of the claim from Saudi authorities.
Saudi authorities had said on Wednesday that three people were killed in strikes targeting Riyadh airport and Abha airport in the kingdom’s southwest earlier in the week.
The latest developments have raised concerns over aviation safety in the region, prompting airlines to reassess their operations and suspend services while the security situation remains uncertain.
Data from global flight-tracking platform FlightRadar24 showed that several dozen international flights scheduled to arrive in Riyadh on Thursday evening had been cancelled.
The disruptions highlight the potential impact of escalating regional hostilities on commercial aviation, particularly at major international airports serving the Middle East.
Airlines operating in the region are facing the challenge of balancing passenger travel needs with the safety of flight crews and aircraft as security concerns persist.
Further details from aviation analytics firm data were not available in the supplied report.