Riyadh airport disruption cancels more than 275 flights after blasts

• FlightAware counted more than 275 cancellations at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Thursday.
• Lufthansa suspended Riyadh flights through October 16; Air India halted service through Saturday, October 10.
• The Houthis claimed a ballistic missile hit the airport. Saudi officials said their forces intercepted missiles aimed at Riyadh.
• Saudi Civil Defense said interception debris damaged a kindergarten and medical clinic complex in the city.

Witnesses told the Associated Press they heard several explosions in Riyadh on Thursday, including a large blast at the airport. One witness said smoke was visible and fire and ambulance crews arrived. Later, flight tracker Flightradar24 reported the airport had closed again: its last recorded landing was more than 80 minutes earlier, and its last take-off more than 90 minutes earlier.¹

The disruption spread across airline schedules. FlightAware recorded more than 275 cancellations that day, equal to 40% of scheduled arrivals and 30% of departures. Lufthansa Group said it would suspend Riyadh flights through October 16. Air India said it had suspended service through October 10; Indian carriers Akasa Air and IndiGo also suspended or cancelled Riyadh flights.²

The accounts of what happened at the airport differ. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group had fired a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport and hit its target. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles headed for Riyadh and another aimed at Khamis Mushait. Saudi Civil Defense separately attributed damage to a kindergarten and medical clinic complex in Riyadh to debris from an interception.¹³

Reuters, citing three people briefed on the incident, reported that a parked Saudia aircraft caught fire and was badly damaged. Those sources said shrapnel or another projectile may have hit it. Reuters verified video showing smoke and flames, but said Saudi government, civil aviation and airline representatives had not responded to requests for comment. The cause of the fire and whether anyone was injured in that incident were not established in the report.⁴

The three deaths and 36 injuries reported by Saudi authorities this week were attributed to earlier attacks on Riyadh and Abha airports, not the October 8 explosions.⁵

Footnotes

1. Associated Press, “Explosions hit Saudi capital and airport as tensions escalate”. ↩ ↩²

2. Associated Press, “Lufthansa, Indian airlines suspend Riyadh service after explosions hit Saudi capital”. ↩

3. The Peninsula, reporting an Agence France-Presse account of the Saudi Civil Defense statement. ↩

4. Reuters, “Plane damaged at Riyadh airport as Houthis escalate attacks, sources say”. ↩

5. Agence France-Presse, “Saudi says three dead in airport attacks claimed by Houthis”. ↩