Follow-Up: 86% of Riyadh Airport Flights Cancelled Between Oct. 8 and 25, Cirium Data Show; More Than 7,800 Flights Cancelled Across Saudi Arabia and Delta Delays Riyadh Launch
Reuters reported on October 26 that the latest data from aviation analytics firm Cirium show that about 86 percent of scheduled flights at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — 4,071 of 4,736 — were cancelled between October 8 and 25 amid continued attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement, and that more than 7,800 flights, or 45 percent of all scheduled departures from Saudi airports, were cancelled nationwide over the same period. As GSM reported earlier, the airport was struck on October 10 in an attack that killed 13 people, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, and was shut until it partially reopened on October 25.
By airport, Riyadh's 86 percent cancellation rate was the highest among major airports; Dammam recorded 42 percent and Abha 46.7 percent, both of which the Houthis have claimed strikes against, while all flights were cancelled at some smaller regional airports including Najran, near the Yemeni border. The nationwide peak came on October 12, when cancellations exceeded 60 percent of scheduled flights.
Operations remain far from normal. Saudi authorities partially reopened the airport on October 25, with domestic flights resuming from Terminal 1 and Saudi national carriers allowed to operate international services from Terminal 2, but the Houthis said on October 26 that they had attacked the airport again, calling it a "military target." International airlines have suspended services to the Saudi capital into November, and Delta Air Lines has postponed the launch of its Riyadh route until next year.
The disruption has forced several events in Riyadh to be cancelled or postponed, including the kingdom's marquee investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative (FII), whose cancellation GSM reported earlier. The Houthis have stepped up attacks this month on Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities with ballistic missiles and drones. Riyadh's airport is the kingdom's second-busiest, after Jeddah.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：沙特阿拉伯 Riyadh 哈立德国王国际机场航站楼内部（资料图）。照片：liton islam，CC BY 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons（原载 Panoramio）。Photo: Inside a terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (file photo). Photo: liton islam, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (originally on Panoramio).
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