Saudi skies empty amid Houthi fears
Collected Photo
Much like the vast deserts across its territory, Saudi Arabia’s extensive airspace is also becoming eerily empty. Instead of the familiar wings of aircraft, the rumble of war clouds looms overhead. The resulting fear has brought operations at Riyadh’s airport to a standstill. Jeddah’s airport has also been weighed down by a wave of flight cancellations.
The Houthis are launching successive attacks. Oil refineries, military bases and the capital are all targets. The number of casualties is rising by the day. Faced with mounting fears, Saudi authorities have been forced to keep a major airport closed.
The impact has also reached Bangladesh. Like other countries around the world, flights from Dhaka to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah have been canceled. Overall, the flight cancellation rate at Saudi airports reached 46.4 percent on Monday. This information was provided by UK based aviation analytics firm Cirium, according to Reuters.
Amid the ongoing disruption, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning on Sunday regarding flights operating over Saudi Arabia or through its airspace. Several airlines in Europe and Asia have also suspended services.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had already strengthened its airspace warning for Saudi Arabia on Friday, citing missile and drone attacks. Several countries have also warned their citizens against traveling to the country.
The United States, one of Saudi Arabia’s major allies, issued the first such warning. Canada, South Korea and Japan followed suit. Australia and New Zealand issued similar restrictions on Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s skies began emptying out in earnest on Saturday. On that day, Yemen’s Iran backed Houthi rebels launched a devastating attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The airport was temporarily closed immediately after the attack.
It was the first wave of attacks. Preliminary information indicated that the deadly missile and drone strikes at the airport killed 13 people, including two Bangladeshis, and injured 308 others.
On Sunday night, the Houthis launched a missile attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Authorities temporarily suspended operations at the airport that same day. Flight operations resumed on Monday after a six-hour closure. However, widespread flight disruptions and delays are still occurring there.
Meanwhile, King Khalid International Airport remains closed. According to international aviation notices and flight tracking website Flightradar24, the airport will remain closed until October 17. In Bangladesh time, the closure will continue until 3:00 a.m. on October 18.
In a notice issued on Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said at least 61 flights from Dhaka to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah had been canceled or suspended. The cancellations and suspensions occurred from Saturday night until Monday afternoon.
A total of 8,381 passengers have been affected so far. They were scheduled to travel from Dhaka to various destinations in Saudi Arabia.
According to CAAB data, the 61 affected flights include nine operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, two by US-Bangla Airlines, four by Saudia Airlines and seven by Riyadh Air.
The list also includes 16 IndiGo flights, three SalamAir flights, one EgyptAir flight, nine Emirates flights, five Qatar Airways flights and five flydubai flights.
