IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air have suspended all flights to and from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah in Saudi Arabia until October 17, 2026, following heightened security concerns and recent attacks in the Middle East, including the October 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport that left 13 people dead. Affected passengers are being offered full refunds or free rebooking options.
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Three Indian carriers — IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa Air — have suspended routes connecting India to several Saudi Arabian cities through 17 October, citing an aviation safety review linked to unrest across the broader Middle East region.
IndiGo put in place flight suspensions on routes serving Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Madinah through Saturday, posting notice of the move on X and pointing to an unsettled security environment in the region as the reason for the decision. Passengers were directed to the airline's official website for real-time flight status updates before heading to the airport, with the carrier also noting that notifications would be sent through the contact information supplied at booking. IndiGo announced that all services operating to and from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Madinah would remain suspended through 17 October 2026, citing a developing situation in Saudi Arabia. Passenger support teams were made available through the airline, which also noted it was working alongside the relevant authorities to keep operations running safely.
Akasa Air announced a further postponement of service between its network and the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Jeddah, pushing the resumption date to 17 October and pointing to heightened tensions across the Middle East region as the basis for keeping those routes grounded. Flights between India and Riyadh and Jeddah will remain suspended under Akasa Air's schedule until 17 October 2026, a decision the carrier attributed to the prevailing security environment across the Middle East. Passengers holding reservations on those routes were offered the choice of a full refund or a penalty-free rebooking onto different travel dates. Travellers who paid directly can expect the money returned to their original payment method within a week, whereas anyone whose booking was made through a travel agent will need to contact that agent to arrange their refund.
Air India notified passengers that its services connecting Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah would remain suspended through 17 October 2026, citing developments unfolding in Saudi Arabia as the basis for the suspension. The airline indicated it was keeping a close watch on the situation in the area while evaluating whether conditions would allow flights to restart safely. Travellers whose journeys have been disrupted can request a full refund at the point of cancellation.
Advisories posted by IndiGo and Akasa Air regarding the prolonged halt to flight operations were amplified through the Indian Embassy's account on X, reaching travellers who needed the updates. The flight cancellations followed incidents targeting aviation infrastructure in Saudi Arabia that raised safety concerns among operators.
Burial rites for Mohammed Yousef Ali, an Indian national who lost his life in the drone strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, were attended by India's Ambassador Vipul and a number of Embassy staff members. The Embassy noted that the Ambassador and accompanying officials attended the funeral service alongside the family and others close to the deceased, with the Ambassador expressing condolences to those in mourning and offering a prayer for the repose of the departed. The Embassy's statement noted that ongoing assistance and support for the family had been pledged.
Those events came in the wake of a strike on King Khalid International Airport on 10 October, an incident to which a toll of 13 fatalities has been attributed — a figure that includes an Indian national whose death was formally acknowledged by the Indian Embassy after the person sustained injuries during the attack.
Amid ongoing hostilities, the Houthi movement circulated a notice to international airlines, expatriate workers, and those travelling for business purposes, identifying Saudi airspace as an area of potential risk to aviation, while specifically exempting routes serving Mecca and Medina from that assessment. All three carriers indicated that passenger and crew welfare remained a primary concern, and that they were tracking the evolving security situation and maintaining contact with the relevant authorities.