Lufthansa Group Suspends Riyadh Flights to 16 October After Houthi Strikes as Nearly Half of Departures Are Cancelled
Foreign carriers have pulled out of the Saudi capital's main airport for days or weeks. Here is who has stopped flying, for how long, how many flights were scrubbed and what to check first.
Friday, October 9, 2026/2 min read
If you are booked to or from Riyadh in the coming days, check your airline before you check your bags. A string of foreign carriers has stopped flying to King Khalid International Airport after Yemen's Houthis said they had hit it with a ballistic missile on Thursday and warned airlines to stay out of Saudi airspace.
The disruption is already large. Data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium showed 49.7 percent of departures from Riyadh had been cancelled by 1500 GMT on Thursday, with 31 more cancellations expected on Friday across Saudi airports, Reuters reported.
Which airlines have suspended Riyadh flights, and until when?
The dates differ by carrier, according to The Arabian Post and Reuters:
- Lufthansa Group airlines: suspended through 16 October, citing "current developments in the Middle East".
- Air India: all Riyadh flights cancelled through 10 October. A Delhi to Riyadh flight turned back to Delhi on Thursday.
- Air India Express and Akasa Air: suspended through 10 October.
- IndiGo: all flights to and from Riyadh cancelled until 9 October, which is today.
The Arabian Post stressed that none of these dates guarantees a return to normal service on the day they end.
What happened at King Khalid airport?
The Houthis said they fired a ballistic missile at the airport at midday on Thursday, their second claimed attack on it, according to Euronews. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two missiles aimed at Riyadh, and Saudi civil defence reported material damage to buildings from falling shrapnel. Reuters said a witness and three people briefed on the matter saw smoke rising from a stationary aircraft at the airport. Riyadh had not disclosed further damage or casualties from Thursday's attack when Euronews published.
Earlier in the week the Saudi civil aviation authority said attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday killed three people and injured 36 at Abha and Riyadh airports, as Anadolu Agency reported. The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, warned international airlines "for the last time" about flying in Saudi airspace.
How many flights have been cancelled?
Counts vary with the tracker. The Arabian Post cited FlightAware as showing more than 275 cancellations at Riyadh on Thursday, affecting about 40 percent of scheduled arrivals and 30 percent of departures. Reuters, citing FlightRadar24, said several dozen international flights bound for Riyadh on Thursday evening were cancelled.
What should travellers do now?
Euronews said the airport asked departing passengers to check flight status with their airlines before travelling. Air India Express told affected customers they could take free rescheduling or a full refund, the Arabian Post reported. Anyone on another carrier should ask that airline what it is offering before accepting a rebooking.
The next decision points arrive quickly: IndiGo's pause ends today, the Indian carriers' on Saturday and Lufthansa's a week from now. Whether any of them resume on schedule will depend less on timetables than on whether the missiles stop.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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