AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) said on Tuesday it had extended the temporary suspension of flights to and from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam following the suspension of air operations by the relevant Saudi authorities amid the current situation.

 

RJ said that it was closely monitoring developments and would coordinate with the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) to resume flights to the two cities once Saudi airports reopened and all operational safety requirements had been met, Al Mamlaka TV reported.

 

RJ Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali said on Tuesday that the suspensions affected between 500 and 700 passengers daily. The impact also extended to transit passengers travelling through Queen Alia International Airport to other destinations.

 

Majali said that RJ had previously operated three to four daily flights to Riyadh and one to two to Dammam.

 

Flights to Riyadh were suspended following an attack targeting the airport over the weekend, while flights to Dammam were halted as a precautionary measure, despite Saudi authorities not having closed the airport.

 

He said that the decision to resume flights to Riyadh rested with the Saudi authorities, in coordination with civil aviation and security agencies, to ensure that operations could resume safely following damage to parts of the airport's facilities.

 

Majali stressed that Saudi airspace remained open to air traffic, adding that RJ flights to the Gulf and the Far East continued to transit through Saudi airspace, based on reports from the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation confirming that the airspace was safe.

 

"The suspension remains strictly limited to operations targeting Riyadh and Dammam airports," he said.

 

Regarding affected passengers, Majali said that RJ would rebook them on future flights once operations resumed, without charging additional rebooking fees, as the situation was beyond the control of both passengers and the airline.

 

He added that RJ had increased flight frequencies to Medina and expanded capacity to Bahrain International Airport as an alternative route for passengers travelling to Dammam. However, reaching Riyadh remained more difficult because of its distance of approximately 600 kilometres from Medina, leaving overland travel as the main alternative.

 

Majali stressed that passenger safety and comfort remained RJ's top priorities as the airline sought to resume operations as soon as conditions allowed.

 

The Houthis have been attacking Saudi airports and oil facilities since last week.

 

On Saturday, Houthi strikes killed 13 people and wounded hundreds at King Khalid International Airport. Four people died in earlier attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, and another was killed on Sunday.

 

Operations remained suspended at the sprawling airport on Riyadh’s outskirts on Monday. CCTV footage of Saturday’s attack released by Saudi authorities showed Umrah pilgrims wearing ihram and waiting in departure lounges before a sudden flash tore through the building and brought down flaming debris.