Riyadh Airport Loses Most Flights

Saudi Arabia partially reopened its main airport on Sunday, but new Houthi strikes on Monday immediately complicated the return to normal operations. The Yemeni group claimed another attack on King Khalid International Airport, labeling the facility a military target. This latest incident followed a period of intense disruption that began in early October.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium released figures on Monday detailing the scale of the disruption. Between October 8 and October 25, 4,071 of the 4,736 scheduled flights at King Khalid were canceled. That total represents approximately 86% of the airport's scheduled traffic over those two weeks. King Khalid is the second-busiest airport in the kingdom, trailing only Jeddah.

The Houthi campaign against Saudi infrastructure has intensified in recent weeks. The group has used ballistic missiles and drones to target airports, ports, and oil facilities. The violence reached a peak on October 10, when an attack on Riyadh's airport killed 13 people. That event marked the deadliest incident in the kingdom in more than a decade. Following that strike, authorities halted operations, which only resumed partially on Sunday.

The reopening allowed domestic flights to depart from Terminal 1. National carriers were also permitted to handle international services from Terminal 2. However, the resumption of service was short-lived in terms of stability. On Monday, the Houthis announced their latest strike, prompting international airlines to suspend services to the Saudi capital through November. Delta Air Lines has also delayed the launch of its Riyadh route until next year.

The air traffic collapse has affected the entire country, not just Riyadh. Cirium data indicates that more than 7,800 flights were canceled across Saudi airports during the same two-week period. That figure accounts for 45% of all scheduled departures nationwide. The worst day was October 12, when more than 60% of scheduled flights were scrapped. Other major hubs saw significant losses, with Dammam recording a 42% cancellation rate and Abha seeing 46.7% of flights canceled.

The impact has extended beyond the skies. Several events in Riyadh, including the country's major investment conference, have been canceled or postponed as travel becomes difficult. The disruption has reached even the smallest hubs. At Najran, located near the Yemeni border, every scheduled flight was canceled during the reporting period. The combination of missile threats and operational pauses has left a large portion of the kingdom's air network inactive.

The Houthis continue to target infrastructure to pressure Saudi Arabia. The data from Cirium provides a concrete measure of the operational impact on the ground. While the airport has reopened, the frequency of attacks continues to drive cancellations. The figures stand as a record of the current state of air travel in the region, with nearly nine in ten flights at the capital's main gateway lost to the conflict.