Tails of three Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777 jets parked on the apron at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, under a hazy sky, in 2008 · Ned Russell, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Study · YANBU · 2026-10-18 · 4 min read · Oil exports and air travel · Futures

Riyadh airport reopens, one report says, as airlines keep cancelling

The reopening rests on one press report and no official notice; airlines keep cancelling, and a missile was aimed at Yanbu.

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.adjacent

What changed since chapter twelve

Since chapter twelve, The National reported that Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport reopened on Sunday 18 October; the US Embassy's alert of Saturday 17 October, a day earlier, said its operations remained suspended. ^{[5, 1]}

No reopening notice from the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia's aviation regulator, was found for this chapter; AeroCorner found none as of Saturday morning. AGBI had reported on Friday 16 October that the reopening was tentatively set for Sunday morning, with experts divided over an extension. ^{[7, 6]}

Airlines are not waiting for the answer. Etihad has cancelled all Abu Dhabi to Riyadh flights until Monday 19 October, KLM its Riyadh flights to 31 October and Lufthansa to 18 November, The National reported. British Airways plans one flight a day from 3 November, and Cathay Pacific has suspended Riyadh to 31 January 2027. ^[5]

The Saudi-led coalition said on Friday 16 October that it intercepted a ballistic missile headed for Yanbu, the Red Sea oil port this series follows, Reuters reported. The coalition did not identify the attackers. It also said it destroyed two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones in the Southern and Riyadh regions, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. ^{[9, 10]}

The record

The embassy's alert of Saturday 17 October says: 'Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remain suspended.' It says Jeddah and Dammam airports are operating with some delays and cancellations. US government staff need special authorization to use any Saudi airport and to travel to Yanbu. ^[1]

The closure notice published on Monday 12 October kept the airport shut until 21:00 GMT on Saturday 17 October, Aerospace Global News reported; AGBI wrote that it was subject to review. On Thursday 15 October, 298 of 366 scheduled departures from the airport were cancelled or did not fly, 81.4 percent, Cirium data reported by Aerospace Global News showed. ^{[13, 6, 12]}

At sea, UKMTO, the UK's maritime trade agency, said on Saturday that an unknown projectile struck a tanker 68 nautical miles northeast of Jubail on Friday, and the crew were evacuated safe. A second UKMTO report said a small boat hit a tanker with a rocket-propelled grenade 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail; Reuters could not establish whether the two were one incident. ^[11]

On Saturday 17 October a small boat fired two shots at an LNG tanker about 140 nautical miles southeast of Al Mukalla, Yemen, UKMTO said, Gulf News reported. The tanker's armed guards fired warning shots. The International Maritime Organization's confirmed list was unchanged at 113 incidents and 24 seafarer deaths as at 14 October. ^{[8, 3]}

US crude imports from Saudi Arabia were 268 thousand barrels a day in the week to Friday 9 October, after 228 and 74 in the two weeks before, the Energy Information Administration's preliminary table shows. The newest Kpler briefing found is that of Friday 16 October, which put Yanbu loadings around 668 thousand barrels a day, from 3.1 million the week before. ^{[2, 14]}

Who it reaches

Delta (DAL) is adjacent: its Atlanta to Riyadh launch, once due on 23 October, is moved to March 2027, The National reported. Its Riyadh waiver covers tickets issued on or before 12 October, with no fare difference for travel rebooked by 31 May 2027, or a refund or eCredit. The FAA's caution notice to US airlines over Saudi Arabia runs to 10 December, AeroCorner reported, citing Reuters. ^{[5, 4, 15]}

Saudi crude exports are reached through Yanbu, which Reuters called a key outlet that lets the kingdom ship crude without passing Hormuz. Tankers working the Saudi Gulf coast are reached through the two Jubail reports, 68 and 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail. ^{[9, 11]}

Where the sources disagree

On the reopening, The National says the airport reopened on Sunday; the embassy's alert, issued on Saturday, said it remained suspended, and no official notice was found either way. AGBI quoted John Grant of Midas Aviation expecting it to 're-open on time', and Andrew Charlton of Aviation Advocacy saying these notices 'can be extended fairly easily.' Only one recognized source read here reports the reopening, so this chapter reports it as The National's account. ^{[5, 1, 6]}

On the toll, the coalition's spokesman said on 15 October that attacks on airports had killed 19 people and injured 364, AeroCorner reported, citing Arab News. Aerospace Global News gave at least 19 killed and more than 330 injured across Saudi Arabia since 1 October. AGBI reported at least 20 deaths in attacks on airports, citing a tally. ^{[7, 12, 6]}

What settles it next

The Energy Information Administration's next import table is due on Wednesday 21 October. Etihad's Riyadh cancellations run to Monday 19 October, Oman Air's to 22 October and Air France's to 24 October, The National reported; the FAA notice ends on 10 December. Undated: the aviation authority's own word on the airport, UKMTO's verdict on the Jubail reports and Kpler's next briefing. ^{[2, 5, 15, 11, 14]}

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.

All news →