Airlines Can Handle a Crisis – But What About Several at Once?

Airlines are used to dealing with crises. What they are less comfortable with is confronting several major disruptions at once, with each making the others more expensive to manage.

The latest flashpoint is Saudi Arabia, where a succession of deadly attacks on airports and explicit threats to aviation have added another layer of complexity.

The implications stretch well beyond airlines flying to the kingdom. With many Western carriers already avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace, Saudi Arabia has become an important corridor for international flights connecting Europe, Asia, and beyond.

Now even that fallback is looking precarious. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia, citing military activity and navigation system interference.

"Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including overflight, the arrival, and departure phases of flight