Several Indian airlines have extended flight cancellations to Saudi Arabia, affecting services to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Medina amid major air traffic disruptions following deadly attacks in the country.
Air India Express has cancelled flights to Dammam and Jeddah for October 12, while services to Riyadh remain suspended until October 15. The airline said passengers had been informed of the cancellations in advance.
Akasa Air has suspended flights to Jeddah and Riyadh until October 13, while Air India has cancelled its Riyadh services until October 15.
IndiGo has extended cancellations on routes to Riyadh and Dammam until October 15. Flights to Jeddah and Medina remain cancelled until October 13.
Riyadh airport faces severe disruption after deadly attacks
Flight operations at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport remained severely disrupted on Monday following deadly attacks attributed to Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group, Reuters reported.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimated that around 60% of scheduled flights would be cancelled on Monday, while flight-tracking service FlightRadar24 put the cancellation rate at approximately 78%.
Cirium data showed that 99.7% of scheduled flights at Riyadh airport were cancelled on Sunday. Across Saudi Arabia, more than a third of scheduled services were also expected to be cancelled on Monday.
The disruption followed an attack on Sunday that killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others. A separate attack claimed by the Houthis a day earlier left 13 people dead and more than 300 injured, Reuters reported.
The attacks have disrupted Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector, prompting airlines in Europe and Asia to suspend services. The US Federal Aviation Administration has also advised American carriers to exercise caution when operating flights to or over Saudi Arabia.
Lufthansa Group has cancelled flights to Riyadh until October 16, while Air France-KLM has extended its suspension of services to and from the Saudi capital until the end of October, Reuters reported.
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