Saudi Arabia extended the Riyadh airport closure on Monday, keeping King Khalid International Airport shut while officials complete safety and readiness checks after the weekend strikes by Yemen’s Houthis. The civil aviation authority said operations would stay suspended until procedures to confirm the safety and operational readiness of the airport facilities were finished.
The airport, the second busiest in Saudi Arabia after Jeddah, has been closed since Saturday. That day’s strike killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, in the deadliest such incident in the kingdom in more than a decade. Our earlier report tracked how the death toll from the airport strikes reached 12 before rising further. A second strike on Sunday killed one Pakistani national and injured nearly a dozen other people.
Riyadh airport closure: flights cancelled across regions
The shutdown emptied the skies over the Saudi capital. Aviation analytics firm Cirium recorded that 99.7 per cent of scheduled flights at the airport were cancelled on Sunday, and the flight tracking service Flightradar24 showed no aircraft over the city.
Airlines in Europe and Asia have suspended services while the closure continues. The Lufthansa Group has cancelled all flights to Riyadh until October 16. Air France-KLM has extended its earlier suspension of flights to and from the capital until the end of the month. Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways also extended its cancellations, affecting around 20 flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam on Monday and Tuesday.
On Sunday, the United States Federal Aviation Administration advised American carriers to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. For Pakistani travellers, the disruption follows the second strike on the airport’s Terminal 4, which our newsroom reported on Sunday, and the death of a Pakistani national in the weekend strikes. Riyadh is a major gateway for Pakistani workers and for Umrah pilgrims, so each extra day of closure delays journeys in both directions.
Footage shows the moment of Saturday’s strike
Saudi authorities on Monday released security camera footage from inside the terminal on Saturday. The video shows pilgrims in white garments queuing for a document check when an explosion brought pieces of the ceiling down. Gate staff dived under their desks, and passengers moved away from the direction of the explosion as smoke and debris filled the hall.
Many of the travellers in the footage appear to be pilgrims travelling for Umrah. The pilgrimage season is beginning as the intense summer heat starts to ease, which raises the number of religious travellers passing through the airport in the coming weeks.
The release itself is a notable step. Saudi authorities have warned witnesses of possible legal action for speaking publicly about the strikes, and they have restricted media access to the sites. For weeks, officials had given few public details about the scale of the Houthi strikes on the kingdom.
Wider costs are already visible
The closure is one of the most significant disruptions to Saudi aviation in years, and it adds to pressure on an industry already strained by conflict across the Middle East, including the mine strike on a third tanker in the Strait of Hormuz reported this week. Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product is projected to contract by 3.6 per cent this year, reflecting lower oil activity among other factors.
Events planned in Riyadh this month are also under pressure. The kingdom’s flagship investment conference and the WPC Energy Congress are both scheduled in the capital, and several senior oil executives have been dropped from the congress programme. No reopening time for the airport had been announced when the extension was confirmed on Monday. (Source: Dawn, reporting Reuters and Saudi official statements)
Frequently asked questions
Why was the Riyadh airport closure extended?
The Saudi civil aviation authority said operations would remain suspended until procedures to ensure the safety and operational readiness of the airport’s facilities were complete. The airport has been shut since Saturday’s strike, which killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Which airlines have cancelled flights to Riyadh?
The Lufthansa Group has cancelled all flights to Riyadh until October 16, and Air France-KLM has extended its suspension until the end of the month. Etihad Airways extended cancellations affecting around 20 flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam on Monday and Tuesday.
How does the closure affect Pakistani travellers?
Riyadh is a main gateway for Pakistani workers and Umrah pilgrims. One Pakistani national was killed in Sunday’s strike and nearly a dozen other people were injured, and travellers with bookings through the capital face delays until the airport reopens.
