Lufthansa Group and Three Indian Airlines Suspend Riyadh Flights After Houthi Attacks
RIYADH, October 9 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) - Lufthansa Group, IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air announced flight suspensions and cancellations affecting Riyadh on Thursday as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis renewed threats against airlines after claiming an attack on the Saudi capital’s airport.
Lufthansa Group’s airlines would suspend flights to Riyadh through October 16 because of “current developments in the Middle East”, a spokesperson told Reuters.
IndiGo said it had cancelled all flights to and from Riyadh until October 9, while Air India and Akasa Air announced cancellations until October 10. Air India said a Delhi-to-Riyadh flight returned to Delhi on Thursday. Akasa Air cancelled two scheduled services.
Several dozen international flights bound for Riyadh on Thursday evening were cancelled, according to data from global flight tracker FlightRadar24 cited by Reuters.
A witness and three people briefed on the matter said smoke was seen rising from a stationary aircraft at Riyadh airport earlier on Thursday. The Houthis said they had struck King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, but there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities at the time of the Reuters report.
Saudi authorities said on Wednesday that three people had been killed that week in attacks on Riyadh airport and Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Source: Reuters
