Riyadh airport shutdown extended, airlines cancel flights

Saudi authorities said on Monday that the suspension of operations at Riyadh’s international airport would be extended following deadly weekend attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Riyadh’s international airport has been closed since Saturday, 10 October 2026, following an attack that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. A second attack on Sunday killed one person and wounded nearly a dozen others, Reuters reported.

At the time of writing, Riyadh was ranked first on Flightradar24’s global airport disruption list, followed by Dammam in second place. Earlier on Monday, Flightradar24 reported that Dammam was closed, with no flights recorded in the previous two hours and only three landings in the previous four hours. The airport was later shown as open, although flight operations remained affected.

Jeddah was also listed under major disruptions earlier in the day, but the airport was operational at the time of writing.

The attacks caused one of the most significant disruptions to Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector in years, adding to the challenges facing airlines amid ongoing conflict across the Middle East.

The disruption has led airlines across Europe and Asia to suspend services. On Sunday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advised US carriers to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) expanded its warning on Saudi airspace on Friday, citing risks from missile and drone attacks.

Indian carriers, including Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa Air, have extended flight cancellations to Saudi Arabia.

Air India Express has suspended its Riyadh services until 15 October, while Air India has also cancelled flights on the route until the same date. Air India Express has additionally cancelled flights to Dammam and Jeddah on 12 October.

IndiGo has extended flight cancellations on routes to Riyadh and Dammam until 15 October, while Akasa Air has suspended services to Jeddah and Riyadh until 13 October.

Several other international carriers have also cancelled flights or extended existing suspensions to Saudi Arabia amid the ongoing situation.

Riyadh Airport cancelled 99.7% of its scheduled flights on Sunday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.