After the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed an attack on the airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, Lufthansa Group and three Indian airlines announced today that they would suspend flights to the city. The United States also urged its citizens in Saudi Arabia to exercise heightened caution.
The civil war in Yemen has dragged on for over a decade and has recently intensified; the Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, while Saudi Arabia supports the Yemeni government.
A Lufthansa spokesperson told Reuters that, due to “current developments in the Middle East,” the group’s airlines would suspend flights to Riyadh until October 16.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, announced the cancellation of all flights to and from Riyadh until October 9. Air India and Akasa Air also informed Reuters that they had cancelled all flights to and from Riyadh until October 10.
Air India added that a flight departing from Delhi, India, for Riyadh returned to Delhi today, while Akasa Air cancelled two scheduled flights.
According to a witness and three sources familiar with the matter, smoke was seen rising from an aircraft parked on the ground at Riyadh’s airport earlier today.
The Houthi rebels stated that they had attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with ballistic missiles, though Saudi officials did not immediately confirm the incident.
Saudi authorities stated yesterday that attacks on Riyadh’s airport and the airport in Abha (in the southwest) earlier this week had resulted in three deaths.
Data from the global flight tracking website FlightRadar24 indicates that multiple international flights bound for Riyadh were cancelled this evening.
AFP reported that the United States today urged American citizens in Saudi Arabia to “exercise heightened caution.”