Delta postpones Atlanta-to-Riyadh service after Houthi attacks on Saudi airport

Delta Air Lines said Monday it will postpone the launch of its flight service from Atlanta to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched deadly attacks on the latter city’s King Khalid International Airport.

Citing “evolving developments in the region,” Delta said in a release it was delaying the launch until March. The nonstop flight service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Riyadh was scheduled to start on Oct. 23. 

“The safety and security of our customers and employees always come first and continue to guide our operational decisions. We remain in close contact with relevant government and aviation partners, including Saudia and Riyadh Air, as we monitor the situation,” the company continued, referencing two Saudi-based airlines.

Delta noted that Saudi Arabia “remains an important market” for the company, adding it is “committed to serving the Kingdom for the long-term.”

The weekend’s attacks on King Khalid resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people, including four Saudi citizens, one American, two Bangladeshi nationals, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Pakistani national, one Palestinian, one Sudanese national and one Syrian, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

The attacks, which the Houthis carried out on Saturday and Sunday, also injured at least 320 others, GACA reported. The aviation authority has suspended operations at the airport, located in the Saudi capital.

Airlines have canceled nearly 550 flights to and from King Khalid over the past 24 hours, according to data from FlightAware.

Before Delta announced the postponement of its Atlanta-to-Riyadh service launch, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC on Monday that “safety” would dictate the company’s decision.

“Obviously, we were disappointed to see the news this week,” Bastian added.

The State Department also advises Americans to “reconsider” travel to Saudi Arabia due to the risk of drone and missile attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group.

U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia need “special authorization” to use any airport in Saudi Arabia and cannot travel within 20 miles of the Yemen border due to safety risks, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh wrote Monday on social platform X.