Houthi Missile Strikes Force Riyadh Air to Evacuate Fleet
Riyadh Air halted nearly all flights and evacuated its aircraft from Riyadh after Houthi militia missile strikes targeted the city's primary airport.
Houthi militia missile attacks on Riyadh's primary airport have severely disrupted the operations of Riyadh Air, a new high-end carrier central to Saudi Arabia's economic ambitions. Following strikes that destroyed an Airbus A320 and killed several people, including a Saudia pilot, the airline evacuated all aircraft from its home base and halted nearly all flights over the past two weeks.
To maintain limited service, Riyadh Air is routing flights from London, Islamabad, and Cairo to an airport in Al Qassim province, where passengers must take a 4.5-hour bus journey to reach the capital. Some aircraft have been placed in holding patterns for up to two hours due to active threats, while other newest Boeing aircraft were redirected to Jeddah.
The conflict has also impacted the sister carrier Saudia and global airlines such as Emirates. The Houthi militia has declared commercial aviation a target, contributing to regional instability and ongoing threats of further strikes on civilian targets from Iran.
