Lufthansa, Indian airlines suspend Riyadh service after explosions hit Saudi capital
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Airlines including Lufthansa and Air India have temporarily suspended operations to Saudi Arabia’s capital after explosions, including a large blast heard at the international airport in Riyadh, were reported Thursday.
More than 275 flights were canceled Thursday at King Khalid International Airport, according to flight monitor FlightAware. The cancellations accounted for 40% of scheduled arrivals and 30% of scheduled departures.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen claimed responsibility for the latest attack on Riyadh’s airport, saying a ballistic missile caused damage, but provided no evidence. The Saudis had no immediate comment about the claim.
The Houthis’ military spokesman later said the group had fired additional ballistic and cruise missiles at airports in Riyadh and the southwestern city of Najran, claiming the attacks disrupted flights.
Riyadh’s airport “closed again,” global flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said Thursday afternoon on X. It said the last landing was more than 80 minutes earlier and the last takeoff more than 90 minutes earlier.
Lufthansa Group, the German company that owns Lufthansa Airlines and other European carriers, said its airlines will suspend flights to Riyadh through Oct. 16 “due to current developments in the Middle East.”
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said in a series of posts on X that several Indian airlines had also suspended service.
Air India said that, “in the interest of safety,” a flight from Delhi to Riyadh earlier Thursday returned to Delhi and was subsequently canceled, along with all service to and from Riyadh until Saturday.
“We are closely monitoring the situation,” the airline said in a statement.
Budget carrier Akasa Air said it was suspending flights to and from Riyadh through Saturday, while another low-cost carrier, IndiGo, said it was canceling its Riyadh service through Friday.