AI Express, AI, Akasa Air cancel Riyadh flights till Oct 10

New Delhi: Air India Express, Air India and Akasa Air have cancelled flights to Riyadh till October 10 amid disruptions due to attacks at the airport. IndiGo has cancelled its Riyadh flights till October 9. Saudi Arabia's two airports in Riyadh and Abha came under attack, reportedly by Houthi militants. Air India Express and Air India flights en route to Riyadh returned on Thursday, sources said. Airlines Respond to Evolving Situation 'In view of the evolving situation in the region, we have cancelled flights to and from Riyadh until October 10. Affected guests are being offered complimentary rescheduling or a full refund on cancellation. We continue to monitor the situation closely,' Air India Express said in a statement on Thursday. Air India Express operates 16 weekly flights to Riyadh from four Indian cities — Bengaluru, Kochi, Kannur and Kozhikode. Air India has also cancelled its services to and from Riyadh till October 10. The airline operates 7 weekly flights to Riyadh from Delhi and Mumbai. 'The affected guests are being offered a full refund on cancellation. We are closely monitoring the situation,' the airline said in a statement. Flight Disruptions and Passenger Refunds On Thursday, Air India said the AI2243 flight from Delhi to Riyadh returned to the national capital and the flight was subsequently cancelled. Full refunds have been offered to passengers. In a post on X, Akasa Air said that in view of the evolving security situation in Riyadh, it has extended the cancellation of its Riyadh flights till October 10. 'We continue to closely monitor and assess the situation on a real-time basis,' it said. Earlier in the day, the airline cancelled QP 523 Kochi — Riyadh and QP 524 Riyadh — Kochi flights on Thursday. In a statement, IndiGo said it has cancelled its Riyadh flights till October 9 and is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the relevant authorities. In recent days, there has been an escalation in the hostilities between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi Arabia. There have been attacks with armed drones and missiles.