Services from Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport are gradually returning to normal following days of delays and cancellations.
On Friday morning, flight tracking website Flightradar24 reported that 63 flights (18 per cent) have been delayed, with 44 cancelled (13 per cent) since midnight. This is compared to a total of 164 delays (42 per cent) and 167 cancellations (43 per cent) on Thursday.
From 8am Friday morning, flights are broadly projected to depart on time.
Flights were initially suspended on Wednesday morning after Houthi attacks, with disruption continuing into Thursday.
Flight cancellations
There are several cancellations listed from King Khalid International Airport, including Emirates flight EK820, which was delayed by several hours on Wednesday and Thursday. The Dubai-bound flight is cancelled on Friday, but is currently listed as scheduled for Saturday.
Etihad Airways has also confirmed the cancellation of eight flights between Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport and Riyadh due to operational disruption at the Saudi airport.
Six flights have been cancelled on Friday – EY551, EY555 and EY559 from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, and EY552, EY556 and EY560 in the opposite direction. Two further flights, EY551 and EY552, have been cancelled on Saturday.
The airline said the situation remains fluid and further schedule changes are possible, advising passengers to check the latest flight status on its website.
Also cancelled is flydubai flight FZ848, which faced delays on Thursday but is scheduled to resume its service on Saturday.
"Flights to Riyadh and Yanbu have been cancelled up to and including October 10, while flights to Abha have been cancelled up to and including October 11," a flydubai spokesperson said.
"We are monitoring the situation closely and remain in close coordination with the relevant authorities. We will update our customers through our official channels regarding any amendments to our flight schedules."
Several flights from Riyadh to India – including Air India flight AI2214 and IndiGo flight IGO74 to Mumbai, and Air India Express flight IX896 to Bengaluru – are also cancelled.
Low-cost Saudi airline Flyadeal has cancelled several domestic flights, including F3111 to Jeddah and F323 to Abha.
The disruption follows drone and missile strikes on King Khalid International Airport and Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, which killed three people and injured 36 others, according to the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also caused damage.
