Pakistan International Airlines has temporarily suspended all flights to Riyadh, citing the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East, a day after Houthi attacks on the Saudi capital's airport killed three people and damaged a passenger aircraft. The Pakistan Airports Authority confirmed the suspension on Friday but stressed that PIA's other flights to Saudi Arabia are operating normally.
A Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777 in flight. PIA has temporarily suspended its flights to Riyadh.
The Suspension
PIA announced on Friday, October 9, that it was temporarily halting its flight operations to Riyadh. A spokesperson for the national carrier said the decision was taken in view of the “situation in the Middle East,” according to Pakistani media reports.
The airline advised passengers to contact its call centre at 111-786-786 to confirm their flight status before travelling to the airport, and apologised for the inconvenience caused by the suspension.
The Pakistan Airports Authority moved quickly to clarify the scope of the disruption, confirming that only the Riyadh route was affected. “Flight operations to Saudi Arabia are continuing as usual. PIA has temporarily suspended flights only to Riyadh,” the PAA said in a statement.
The authority also rejected speculation circulating on social media about a broader suspension, saying such claims were “not true.” PIA did not announce a date for resuming its Riyadh operations.
Thursday's Attack on Riyadh Airport
The suspension followed a major escalation in the Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, when missiles and drones targeted the kingdom's airspace in what the Houthis described as an attempt to shut down Saudi airspace and strike its oil facilities.
Saudi authorities said the attacks on Riyadh airport killed three people and injured several others. A Saudia Airlines aircraft was damaged in the assault, prompting several international airlines to cancel flights to the Saudi capital.
A video verified by Reuters showed thick black smoke and flames rising from Riyadh airport. A witness and three people briefed on the matter said a stationary commercial plane had caught fire, which was later extinguished.
According to reporting by TechJuice, the strikes also disrupted flights across the kingdom and damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex. The Houthi movement also repeated threats against aircraft flying over Saudi Arabia, exempting only flights above the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
A Wave of Cancellations
PIA is far from the only carrier pulling back from Riyadh. Lufthansa Group announced its airlines would suspend flights to the Saudi capital until October 16, citing “current developments in the Middle East.” India's IndiGo cancelled all Riyadh flights until October 9, while Air India and Akasa Air cancelled theirs until October 10. Philippine Airlines has also suspended its Riyadh services.
The scale of the disruption is stark. According to Flightradar24 data cited by TechJuice, 104 flights to and from Riyadh airport were cancelled on Friday, with another 154 delayed. On Thursday, a total of 335 flights were cancelled.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has extended the area in which it advises airlines against flying, citing the recent attacks on Riyadh airport and the risks to civil aviation.
For Pakistan, the impact reaches well beyond PIA's own schedule. According to SAMAA TV, more than 100 flights travelling from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have been affected, with 42 cancelled and 68 delayed for several hours. A significant number of the affected passengers are Umrah pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Inside King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, where Thursday's attacks disrupted flight operations.
What This Means
For Pakistan, the Riyadh suspension is a symbolic milestone: the national carrier had managed to keep its Saudi Arabia flights running even after suspending services to the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait on March 1, soon after the US-Iran war began. That it is now grounding Riyadh flights signals that the conflict's shadow has finally reached the kingdom's capital.
The decision also reflects a wider crisis for regional aviation. With the US-Iran war in its seventh month and the blockade disrupting energy routes through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, airlines are being forced into constant tactical retreats. Carriers from three continents are now avoiding one of the Middle East's busiest hubs.
For ordinary travellers, the pain is immediate. Passengers — including Umrah pilgrims bound for the holy cities — face cancelled bookings, long delays, and uncertainty about when normal schedules will resume. The PAA's clarification that other Saudi routes remain unaffected offers some reassurance, but the situation could change quickly.
A departures board showing cancelled flights. Airlines from three continents have now suspended services to Riyadh.
What Happens Next
No timeline for resuming flights has been given, and the trajectory will depend on the security situation on the ground. The Saudi-led coalition announced retaliatory strikes against 82 Houthi military sites across Yemen, according to regional reporting — a sign the confrontation is escalating rather than winding down.
Diplomacy is running in parallel. Pakistan's Foreign Office said on Friday that Islamabad is ready to resume mediation between the United States and Iran if needed, with discussions on seven points continuing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has hinted at a possible breakthrough in talks with Iran in recent days.
But the aviation industry is planning for the worst. EASA's widened advisory and the raft of airline suspensions suggest carriers expect the threat to Saudi airspace to persist for weeks, not days. For now, Pakistanis bound for Riyadh will have to wait — and check their flight status before heading to the airport.
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