Airlines use Saudi Arabian airspace despite war escalation

• Three dead as Houthis target airports
• Risk to commercial aircraft ‘minimal’
• Closure would affect region’s carriers

Gulf airlines continue to fly through Saudi Arabian airspace despite a sharp escalation in attacks on the kingdom’s airports and warnings from the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Separate attacks on Abha International Airport in the south of the kingdom and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday killed three people and injured 36, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). The GACA did not say which airport was attacked on which day.

Two women were killed and 28 people injured at Abha, while one person was killed and eight injured in the attack on Riyadh. The strikes also caused material damage.

The attacks came after a Houthi-run maritime coordination body warned on Monday and again on Thursday that airlines should avoid flying through Saudi airspace, saying it would remain unsafe as long as Saudi Arabia’s “aggression” against the group continued.

Gulf carriers were still flying over Saudi Arabia on Thursday, according to flight-tracking data observed by AGBI. Emirates, Etihad Airways, Flydubai and Air Arabia were contacted by AGBI for comment. Riyadh Air confirmed that flights were operating as scheduled.

The immediate risk to commercial aircraft remained “minimal”, according to John Grant, a partner at Midas Aviation and AGBI columnist, with airlines closely following the latest guidance from aviation authorities and adjusting routes as needed.

He said rerouting would not necessarily increase flight times significantly, as airlines routinely adjust routes in response to weather and other operational factors.

But carriers face a more complex threat as attacks extend deeper into Saudi Arabia.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) already advises operators not to fly through part of the Jeddah flight information region and to exercise caution elsewhere in Saudi airspace.

It said repeated missile and drone attacks, alongside air-defence activity, increase the risk of civil aircraft being misidentified and exposed to missile and drone overflights, interceptions and falling debris.

Further reading:

• Saudi Arabia warns Houthi attacks will not go unpunished
• Flydubai incident adds to the challenges facing Dubai aviation
• European airlines count the cost of Middle East disruption

A closure or severe restriction of Saudi airspace could have far greater consequences, said Linus Bauer, founder and global managing partner at BAA & Partners, an aviation consultancy in Dubai.

“With much of the surrounding airspace already restricted, Saudi Arabia is the Gulf hubs’ front door to Europe, Africa and the Americas,” he said.

A broad closure could add one to three hours to some European and transatlantic flights, force payload restrictions on ultra-long-haul services and disrupt connection banks at major Gulf hubs, according to Bauer.

The impact would extend beyond Saudi carriers. Airlines including Flydubai, Air Arabia and Gulf Air are particularly exposed because Saudi Arabia is both an important destination market and an overflight corridor.

“Saudi Arabia has every incentive to avoid a full closure. Targeted segregation, not blanket closure, is the rational playbook,” Bauer said.

The US embassy in Riyadh has warned American citizens to expect possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruption following the attacks and public Houthi threats against Saudi airports and airspace.

Britain’s Foreign Office said airports, military bases, ports and energy infrastructure across Saudi Arabia face a heightened threat, including in Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Jizan, Najran and Yanbu, and warned that further attacks are possible.