A New Delhi flight operated by Air India headed toward the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh turned back midair following alerts concerning a suspected assault by Houthi insurgents. In the immediate aftermath of the security situation, officials confirmed that both Air India and Air India Express have temporarily grounded all flight operations to and from Riyadh through October 10, 2026. The swift operational suspension emerged as Iran-backed Houthi fighters based in Yemen claimed responsibility for launching a fresh missile strike directly at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. Mirroring this cautious stance, other domestic carriers including IndiGo and Akasa Air also cancelled their scheduled flights connecting to the Saudi capital.
Riyadh Airport Issues Urgent Travel Warning
Following the disruption, authorities running King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh published an official travel advisory for travelers on October 8. The advisory explicitly urged all ticket holders to verify their specific flight status directly with their respective airline operators prior to arriving at airport terminals. Emphasizing airport safety protocol, the facility asked passengers for complete patience and cooperation during the operational adjustments. The Indian Embassy located in Saudi Arabia echoed the notification by posting the travel alert on X, heightening passenger awareness across the regional travel corridor.
Air Traffic Stalled for Over an Hour
Data provided by global flight tracking platform Flight Radar 24 indicated substantial runway inactivity during the incident. At 4:29 PM Indian Standard Time, the tracking service noted on social media that no arriving aircraft had touched down at Riyadh Airport for the preceding 80 minutes. Simultaneously, airport operations showed that no outbound commercial aircraft had departed from the facility over the past 90 minutes. Although flight movements eventually resumed at the airport later in the day, the rebel group's claims prompted immediate regional aviation safety alarms.
Pattern of Regional Cross-Border Operations
The Iran-backed Houthi insurgent movement based in Yemen claimed that their forces fired a missile aimed squarely at the King Khalid International Airport infrastructure. The group has historically maintained a posture of claiming targeted strikes against Saudi Arabian military facilities as well as civil aviation hubs. Only a day earlier on Wednesday, the rebels claimed an attack on the airport situated in Yemen's southern port city of Aden. Additionally, the group claimed responsibility for several targeted strikes directed at multiple military installations located in the southwestern territory of Saudi Arabia.
