Key facts
- Lufthansa and Air India suspended flights to Riyadh.
- The Houthis claimed to have struck Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile.
- A parked Saudia Airlines plane was heavily damaged and caught fire.
Lufthansa Group airlines and Air India have suspended flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, due to renewed threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis following an attack on the capital's airport. The suspensions are in place until October 10 for Air India and October 16 for Lufthansa's airlines.
The attacks and subsequent flight suspensions highlight the escalating regional tensions and the potential disruption to air travel and trade routes in the Middle East.
Lufthansa Group airlines and Air India announced on Thursday they would suspend flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following renewed threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis after the group claimed an attack on the Saudi capital's airport.
A spokesperson for Lufthansa stated that the German group's airlines would suspend flights to Riyadh through October 16, citing "current developments in the Middle East." Air India confirmed it had cancelled all flights to the Saudi capital until October 10.
Earlier on Thursday, witnesses and individuals briefed on the matter reported seeing smoke rise from a stationary aircraft at Riyadh airport. The Houthis asserted responsibility for the incident, claiming they had struck King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. They provided no evidence, and Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim. However, three people briefed on the matter told Reuters that shrapnel from an interception or another projectile left a Saudia Airlines commercial plane heavily damaged after catching fire while parked at a terminal on Thursday. They said no passengers were believed to have been on the plane at the time but could not rule out any injuries.
Witnesses heard explosions in Riyadh, including a large blast at the King Khalid international airport. A thick black column of smoke and flames were shown rising from the airport in a video verified by Reuters. Outgoing flights were halted, and passengers were instructed to evacuate the airport.
Data from global flight tracker FlightRadar24 indicated that several dozen international flights scheduled for Riyadh on Thursday evening had been cancelled. Aviation analytics company Cirium reported that by 1500 GMT, 49.7% of departures from Riyadh airport had been cancelled, with an additional 31 cancellations anticipated for Friday across all Saudi airports.
The Houthis escalated their campaign of strikes against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, attempting to shut down the kingdom’s airspace and warning workers to stay away from energy plants, which they said would be targeted. Separately, Saudi officials said debris from an intercepted missile had hit a kindergarten and medical complex in Riyadh. The Houthis say they are targeting the kingdom over its support for government forces in Yemen’s civil war.
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