Skies over Saudi capital Riyadh largely empty after deadly Houthi strikes on airport

The ‌skies above ​the Saudi capital Riyadh were largely empty on Monday after deadly attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on ‌the city's airport, with about 60% of scheduled flights expected to be cancelled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's second-busiest ‌airport after Jeddah, cancelled 99.7% of all scheduled flights on Sunday, ‌Cirium data showed. More than a third of flights scheduled across the kingdom were not expected to operate on Monday, while flight tracking website FlightRadar24 estimated cancellations at Riyadh airport ⁠of about 78%. The ​Saudi capital's airport ⁠remained closed on Sunday after an attack that killed one person and injured nearly ⁠a dozen others. The strike followed another attack claimed by the Houthis a day earlier ​that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.

The attacks marked one ⁠of the most significant disruptions to Saudi civil aviation in years, forcing airlines across ⁠Europe and ​Asia to suspend services. The Federal Aviation Administration told US airlines on Sunday to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia. Lufthansa ⁠Group has cancelled all flights to Riyadh until October 16, while Air France-KLM ⁠has extended a previous ⁠suspension of services to and from the Saudi capital until the end of the month.