Riyadh airport loses four in five flights since early October

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh canceled 4,071 flights between October 8 and October 25. Aviation analytics firm Cirium released the data on Monday. The cancellations account for 86% of the 4,736 scheduled flights during that period.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. They used ballistic missiles and drones to target airports, ports, and oil facilities. Riyadh's airport, the second-busiest in the kingdom after Jeddah, was hit repeatedly. An attack on October 10 killed 13 people. That incident marked the deadliest in the kingdom in over ten years.

Saudi authorities partially reopened the airport on Sunday. The halt had started on October 10. Domestic flights resumed from Terminal 1. National carriers were allowed to run international services from Terminal 2. The Houthis claimed a new attack on the airport on Monday. They described the facility as a military target.

International airlines have suspended services to the Saudi capital through November. Delta Air Lines delayed the launch of its Riyadh route until next year. The travel disruption has forced the cancellation or postponement of several events in Riyadh. These include Saudi Arabia's major investment conference.

The disruption has spread across the country. Cirium data shows more than 7,800 flights were canceled from all Saudi airports between October 8 and October 25. That represents 45% of all scheduled departures. Cancellations peaked on October 12. More than 60% of scheduled flights nationwide were scrapped that day.

Other major airports also faced severe cancellations. Dammam recorded a 42% cancellation rate. Abha, where the Houthis claimed strikes, saw 46.7% of flights canceled. Smaller regional airports lost most of their services. At Najran, near the Yemeni border, every flight was canceled.