A Delta Air Lines Airbus A350-900 climbing against a clear blue sky, seen from below, photographed at Atlanta according to the file's title · Adolch, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Study · YANBU · 2026-10-13 · 4 min read · Airlines and oil shipping · Futures

Delta delays Riyadh to March; the FAA warns; the airport stays shut

Delta's first direct passenger route to Saudi Arabia slips to March 2027, and Riyadh's main airport stays closed until Saturday 17 October.

By the desk. Researched and written by an AI model from the sources listed at the end; nothing here restates another publication's text.

DAL Delta Air Lines, Inc.direct FDX FedEx Corporationadjacent

What changed since chapter eight

Since chapter eight, Delta Air Lines has put off its Atlanta to Riyadh launch to March 2027, a day after the FAA told US airlines to take care over Saudi Arabia. ^{[1, 7]}

Chapter eight closed on Monday 12 October with King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh shut after two days of strikes. Saudi authorities have since extended the airport's suspension until Saturday 17 October, The National and Al Jazeera reported. On Monday night the coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired at Riyadh, and the Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed a precise hit on the airport, CBS News reported. ^{[11, 12, 13]}

Early on Tuesday 13 October the coalition said it destroyed two ballistic missiles launched towards Khamis Mushait, The National reported; Saree claimed a drone hit on the airbase there. He again warned airlines against flights to Saudi airports, except those of Mecca and Medina, Al Jazeera reported. The US Embassy urged 'extreme caution' at Saudi airports, and its staff now need special authorization to use any of them, ABC News reported. ^{[11, 12, 9]}

At sea, Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy claimed on Monday to have struck three supertankers in the strait in two days, naming none, CBS News reported. UKMTO had reported no attack on Monday but noted at least two projectiles hitting vessels on Sunday, CBS News added. The IMO's confirmed list is unchanged at 104 as at 12 October, with 24 seafarer deaths. ^{[13, 5]}

The record

The FAA's notice to airmen, issued on Sunday 11 October and lasting until 10 December, cites military activity and navigation system interference, Reuters reported. It quotes the agency: 'Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including overflight, the arrival, and departure phases of flight.' AeroTime reported that the notice covers the Jeddah flight information region, the airspace Saudi Arabia controls, and advises caution without banning flights. ^{[7, 8, 10]}

Delta's release of Monday 12 October says it 'will delay the planned launch of its nonstop service between Atlanta and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, amid evolving developments in the region.' It names no new day, saying only: 'We look forward to connecting Saudi Arabia to Delta's global network in March 2027.' Customers get a travel waiver and refunds of unflown trips. ^[1]

Delta's quarterly report shows aircraft fuel and related taxes of 4,351 million dollars for July to September, against 2,570 million a year earlier. The company attributed the increase primarily to a 63 percent increase in its average jet fuel purchase price. It wrote that it expects elevated jet fuel costs to persist until market disruptions and geopolitical events are resolved. ^[2]

Kpler's briefing of Tuesday 13 October, with flow data to Sunday 11 October, puts strait transits at a seven-day average of 8,482 thousand barrels a day, against 10,538 in Monday's briefing. Red Sea volumes, the bypass this series follows, averaged 3,588 thousand a day against a pre-war 2,803 thousand, after 3,741 on Monday. Kpler put East-West Pipeline flows around 5.8 million barrels a day and wrote that its latest days are preliminary, typically settling 1.5 to 2 times higher. ^{[3, 4]}

Brent climbed back to a two-week high over 105 dollars a barrel on Monday, CBS News reported; Oilprice.com reported Brent at 106.80 dollars that morning, by its own data. ^{[13, 14]}

Who it reaches

Delta (DAL) is direct: the route was due on 23 October, Delta's first direct passenger service to Saudi Arabia, AeroTime reported, and the release moves it to March 2027. FedEx (FDX) is adjacent: its Boeing 777 freighter flies to Riyadh six times a week, Reuters reported, and no record read here says FedEx changed that schedule. Other major US airlines serve Riyadh through codeshare partners, Reuters reported. ^{[10, 1, 7]}

Where the sources disagree

On the toll, the civil aviation authority counted 20 killed and 356 injured in attacks from 6 to 11 October, ABC News reported. Al Jazeera gave at least 14 killed 'in recent days'. Reuters, AeroTime and The National give 13 killed on Saturday 10 October alone. ^{[9, 12, 7, 10, 11]}

On the reopening, The National reported the suspension runs until midnight on 17 October, AeroTime until 21:00 GMT that day, and Al Jazeera 'until this Saturday'. No text from the civil aviation authority itself was read for this chapter. Nor was the FAA's notice text, quoted here as Reuters, ABC News and AeroTime carried it. ^{[11, 10, 12, 7, 9]}

What settles it next

First comes the US Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum report, moved by Columbus Day to noon on Thursday 15 October. Then the airport's suspension, set to end on Saturday 17 October, the FAA notice's end on 10 December, and Delta's launch in March 2027. Undated: the IMO's next update, Kpler's next briefing and the civil aviation authority's own word on reopening, which the next chapter opens with. ^{[11, 6, 7, 1, 5, 3]}

Sources

Every stock is a company; the desk grades the company behind the stock. This article describes; it does not recommend. Adjacent means the company is not named in the event and the path by which it is reached is stated above.

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