Nearly half of flights leaving Saudi cancelled today; one-fourth suspended tomorrow

Nearly half of flights from Saudi Arabia were cancelled today as Riyadh airport saw 82 per cent disruption due to the Houthi attacks.

Of 1,048 flights scheduled to depart from Saudi Arabia on Monday, 486, or 46.4 per cent, have been cancelled, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

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A further 271 of 1,058 flights, or 25.61 per cent, are reported cancelled for tomorrow (October 13).

The figures are an update as of 16:00 Riyadh time (5pm UAE time) Monday.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH) was the hardest hit among the major hubs. Of 333 scheduled departures, 273 were cancelled or did not fly, or 81.98 per cent, Cirium said, adding that the number could be higher.

Flights across Saudi Arabia have been severely disrupted following a series of Houthi attacks on airports, forcing airlines to cancel services, suspend operations and warn passengers of further changes.

Disruption at other major airports was lower, but still significant:

·       Dammam King Fahd International (DMM): 48 of 111 flights (43.24%)

·       Taif (TIF): 7 of 13 flights (53.85%)

·       Abha International (AHB): 12 of 35 flights (34.29%)

·       Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International, Madinah (MED): 22 of 85 flights (25.88%)

·       Jeddah King Abdulaziz International (JED): 84 of 372 flights (22.58%)

Flights tomorrow

Cancellations are expected to ease tomorrow, but Riyadh remains the most affected. Of 334 departures, 144 (43.11 per cent) are cancelled or not expected to fly.

Elsewhere, 48 of 370 flights are cancelled at Jeddah, 24 of 114 at Dammam and 8 of 88 at Madinah.

Saudia, the largest carrier by flights, cancelled 218 of 374 scheduled departures today (58.29 per cent). Flynas cancelled 80 of 178 (44.94 per cent) and Flyadeal 64 of 147 (43.54 per cent).

Riyadh Air cancelled 15 of 20 flights (75 per cent). Emirates cancelled all 10 of its scheduled flights from Saudi Arabia, while Air India cancelled all four.

Other carriers affected today:

·       Akasa Air: 5 of 6 flights (83.33%)

·       Air India Express: 7 of 10 (70%)

·       Air Arabia DMM: 7 of 10 (70%)

·       IndiGo: 7 of 15 (46.67%)

·       Qatar Airways: 9 of 21 (42.86%)

·       EgyptAir: 8 of 19 (42.11%)

·       Royal Jordanian: 4 of 10 (40 per cent)

·       Turkish Airlines: 3 of 10 (30 per cent)

·       Gulf Air: 4 of 15 (26.67 per cent)

Saudia cancellations persist tomorrow

Saudia is expected to remain the most affected, with 207 of 353 flights (58.64 per cent) cancelled tomorrow. Flynas, Flyadeal and Riyadh Air, by contrast, show sharp improvement, with just one cancellation each from 188, 149 and 20 flights, respectively.

Among international carriers, Air India Express is set to cancel 6 of 7 flights (85.71 per cent), Akasa Air 4 of 5 (80 per cent) and Emirates 8 of 10 (80 per cent). Air India will cancel 4 of 6 flights (66.67 per cent), IndiGo 7 of 15 (46.67 per cent) and flydubai 9 of 22 (40.91 per cent).

Turkish Airlines and Etihad Airways each show 4 cancellations, or 30.77 per cent of their scheduled flights.

Gulf Air (4 of 16, 25 per cent), EgyptAir (4 of 21, 19.05 per cent), Qatar Airways (3 of 20, 15 per cent), Royal Jordanian (2 of 11, 18.18 per cent) and Pakistan International Airlines (1 of 12, 8.33 per cent) are less affected. Philippine Airlines’ single scheduled flight is cancelled.