RIYADH, October 9, 2026 — Lufthansa Group and three Indian airlines suspended flights to Riyadh on Thursday after Yemen’s Houthis renewed threats against carriers using Saudi airspace, following the group’s claim of a ballistic missile strike on the Saudi capital’s airport.
A Lufthansa spokesperson told Reuters the German group’s airlines would halt Riyadh services through October 16, citing “current developments in the Middle East.” IndiGo, India’s largest carrier, said it had cancelled all flights to and from Riyadh until October 9, while Air India and Akasa Air told Reuters they had grounded all Saudi capital flights until October 10.
The suspensions came as aviation data painted a stark picture of disruption. Analytics firm Cirium reported that 49.7 percent of scheduled departures from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were cancelled by Thursday afternoon, with a further 31 cancellations expected across Saudi airports on Friday, according to Gulf Business. Global flight tracker FlightRadar24 showed several dozen international flights bound for Riyadh cancelled on Thursday evening.
Smoke Over the Runway
Witnesses reported smoke rising from a stationary aircraft at the airport earlier on Thursday, while an Associated Press reporter heard several explosions across the capital, including a large blast at the international airport. Saudi officials said debris from an intercepted missile struck a kindergarten and a medical complex.
The Houthis said they had hit the airport with a ballistic missile. Coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said coalition air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and a third fired toward Khamis Mushait, home to a major Saudi airbase.
Final Warning to Airlines
The flight suspensions followed what the Houthis described as a “final warning” to global airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, which the group called a theatre of its military operations. An Air India flight from Delhi to Riyadh turned back to the Indian capital on Thursday, trade sources said, while Akasa Air cancelled two scheduled services.
A Deadly Week
Saudi authorities said on Wednesday that three people had been killed this week in strikes on the Riyadh and Abha airports — the deadliest spillover of Yemen’s reignited civil war onto Saudi soil in years. The Houthis say they are targeting the Kingdom over its support for Yemen’s UN-recognised government, which is pressing an offensive to retake territory from the group. Riyadh says it is backing that campaign.
The escalation has rippled through the travel market at the start of the Gulf’s busy autumn season, with refund and rebooking desks in Delhi, Mumbai and Frankfurt reporting surges, travel industry sources said. Whether airlines extend their suspensions will depend on the security situation in the coming days, officials said.
