Eight flights from Dhaka cancelled after attack on Saudi airport
Eight flights from Dhaka to Riyadh have been cancelled so far after the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Biman Bangladesh Airlines will give details about two of its flights at 12 noon today, Monday. Yesterday, Sunday, the airlines announced this in separate notices.
On Saturday night, Bangladesh time, the Houthi armed group of Yemen attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Iran backs the Houthis. This is the third attack on the airport this week. The airport has stopped its operations for now. All flights have been moved to other airports.
Right after the attack, Biman Bangladesh announced that it was suspending flights BG 339 and BG 340. In a notice today, the state owned airline said the Riyadh airport authority had extended its closure. The airport will stay closed until 9 pm UTC on Sunday. In Bangladesh time, this runs until 3 am tomorrow night.
By yesterday afternoon, eight flights had been cancelled. Two belong to Biman Bangladesh Airlines and one belongs to US Bangla. Three belong to Saudi Airlines and two belong to Riyadh Air. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said these flights carried a total of 2,951 passengers.
Reuters reported on the suspension of flights at the Riyadh airport. It said the airport authority asked passengers to contact their airlines before they go to the airport. It also asked them to check the latest status of their flights.
