RIYADH: Houthi attacks drove Riyadh airport cancellations to about 94% of scheduled departures between October 10 and 27.
Aviation data supplied to Bloomberg by Cirium showed. Cirium counted 4,345 scheduled departures from King Khalid International Airport during the period. Saudi authorities suspended operations after an October 10 attack that killed 13 people.
The airport remained shut while officials assessed its safety and operational readiness. Authorities allowed limited services to resume on October 25.
Domestic flights returned to Terminal 1, while national carriers could operate international services from Terminal 2. The disruption extended beyond Saudi Arabia.
Between February 1 and October 27, airlines cancelled 26,561 flights across major airports in Riyadh, Dubai and Doha. That was five times the number recorded a year earlier.
Read: UAE to Resume Yemen War Funding, Sources Tell Guardian
Scheduled departures across the three airports also fell nearly 21%, Cirium said. The wider disruption followed the outbreak of the Iran war in February, while renewed Houthi strikes added pressure on Saudi aviation.
Read: US Orders Staff to Leave Saudi Arabia Over Houthi Attacks
Saudi civil aviation authority president Abdulaziz Al-Duailej said regional security developments had affected passenger demand and airline operations. The Houthis have claimed attacks on airports and other Saudi facilities.
They warned airlines of retaliation under the slogan “airport for airport, blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation”. Several international carriers extended their flight suspensions.
Riyadh Air shifted its limited operations to another airport. KLM suspended services to Riyadh and Dammam through November 27. Air France extended its suspension of Riyadh flights until December 12.
About 94% of scheduled departures from Riyadh’s main airport were cancelled between October 10 and 27 after repeated Houthi attacks, according to Cirium aviation data.
