Kuwait Airways Flights to Riyadh Cancelled: Full Travel Update

Will my flight out of Kuwait still take off this week? For most routes, yes, but you should check before you leave the house. Riyadh is a different story right now: King Khalid International Airport has suspended all operations after a fresh attack left several people injured, and that’s sending ripples through flight schedules across the whole region, Kuwait included.

This comes only two days after a separate Houthi attack on the same airport killed three Saudi nationals, among them a Saudia Airlines pilot. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said flights would stay grounded while teams work with other agencies to check the damage and make sure the airport is safe again. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has told citizens whose travel plans were hit by Saturday’s incident to get in touch with Saudi diplomatic missions abroad for help.

How did we get here?

Saudi airports have been hit repeatedly this week. Three people died in Thursday’s attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Earlier in the week, a separate strike killed one person and injured eight in Riyadh, while an attack on Abha killed two and injured 28. On Monday 5 October, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jizan and Najran International Airport, both close to the Yemeni border, were also struck, causing what officials described as minor injuries and damage. We’ve covered the toll from the Riyadh airport attack rising to 12 dead and over 300 hurt, and the earlier week of strikes that left three killed and 36 injured across Saudi airports.

Following Saturday’s incident, the UK and US both advised their citizens to steer clear of King Khalid International Airport, and several international airlines, Kuwait Airways among them, cancelled flights to Riyadh. This follows the UK FCDO’s warning a day earlier against all but essential travel to Aseer, Riyadh, Najran, Jizan, Taif city and Taif International Airport, plus anywhere within 10 kilometres of the Yemen border. The US has gone further for its own government employees, now requiring special authorisation before they can use Riyadh’s airport at all.

Why is this happening – the bigger picture

The wider conflict is centred on the Strait of Hormuz, but it’s the intermittent missile strikes on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis that keep disrupting regional airspace. Indirect talks between the US and Iran are continuing, with Iran said to be weighing US proposals while staying ready to respond to any miscalculation by the US or Israel. US President Donald Trump has denied reports of further attacks planned before the midterm elections.

No other GCC country has been attacked since September, when Kuwait and Bahrain both intercepted drones heading their way. Still, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has renewed its conflict zone advisory, telling airlines to avoid airspace over the waters of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar until Monday 16 November. That’s prompting some international carriers to hold off resuming routes they’d otherwise restart. Separately, the US has sanctioned Iran’s civilian air fleet, and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority has suspended all flights operated by Iranian airlines in response. Flydubai has also kept its Tel Aviv route suspended following the attempted attack on one of its flights on that route on 30 September, a case we’ve reported on in detail, including the UAE investigation into the co-pilot involved.

What’s happening at Kuwait International Airport?

Kuwait’s own airspace remains open, though it has seen intermittent closures because of missile strikes passing through the region. Kuwait Airways is running a fairly full schedule but has had to cancel flights at short notice, including its Saturday services to Riyadh. The airline says any changes to booked flights will be sent to passengers by text message, so it’s worth double-checking your contact details are current before you fly. Jazeera Airways is still flying to select destinations, including Delhi, Beirut, Mumbai, Damascus, Kochi, Istanbul, Amman, Dubai and Cairo, though it warns some flights could be diverted to King Fahd International Airport in Dammam instead of landing as scheduled.

Which other airlines are still flying, and which have stopped?

Most carriers flying into the region are now operating reduced schedules rather than full suspensions. Emirates says it’s back to 98 per cent of its pre-war network, 140 destinations across 72 countries, and is letting passengers change ticket dates as many times as they like for free, alongside offering travel insurance that covers conflict-related costs. Etihad is flying to more than 90 destinations and offering complimentary medical travel insurance for arrivals in Abu Dhabi. Qatar Airways has resumed Bahrain and Kuwait routes, though with delays expected, and says it’s back to 85 per cent of its pre-war network. Flydubai, Gulf Air, Air Arabia, Oman Air, Flynas and Turkish Airlines are all flying but warning of delays or intermittent cancellations on Gulf routes.

Air France, Air India, IndiGo and Aegean have all had to pull back on Riyadh or Dubai services at various points this month, with resumption dates ranging from mid-October into November. On the suspended side, the list is long: British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Wizz Air, Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Korean Air, Japan Airlines, Norwegian, Pegasus, Philippine Airlines and Air Canada have all grounded some or all of their Middle East routes, with return dates stretching from late October 2026 right through to March 2027 for some. Iran Air flights to the UAE remain cancelled indefinitely amid the sanctions dispute.

What this means if you live in Kuwait

If you’ve got a flight booked through Riyadh in the coming days, expect it to be affected, and check with your airline directly rather than assuming it’ll run on schedule. If you’re flying Kuwait Airways, Jazeera, Qatar Airways or any of the Gulf carriers on other routes, disruption is still possible but less likely, since most of these airlines are operating close to normal capacity outside Saudi Arabia. Expect longer flight times even on routes that are running, since planes are being rerouted around closed airspace. Technical fuel stops, especially on budget carriers, are also more common right now.

Most airlines are offering free rebooking or refunds for affected passengers, though the exact terms differ from one carrier to another, so it’s worth reading the fine print rather than assuming blanket flexibility.

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