Riyadh: Air operations in Saudi Arabia have been severely disrupted amid reports of attacks blamed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. A large number of flights were cancelled again today at three major airports in the country, causing serious difficulties for ordinary passengers as well as pilgrims travelling to perform Umrah. Many passengers remain stranded at airports, while international flight services have also been affected.

The flight cancellations have also caused problems for people travelling for religious purposes. Several videos circulating on social media show scenes of chaos at airports following the attacks. The footage depicts passengers preparing to board aircraft amid an atmosphere of fear and panic.

According to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare, around 500 Bangladeshi passengers were stranded in Riyadh following the attack. Saudi authorities said that 13 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the attack on October 10, while one person was reported dead and 11 others injured in the attack on October 11. Dammam Airport was also targeted.

According to data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24, by around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, 436 flights had been cancelled at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. This accounted for approximately 64 per cent of the total flights scheduled for the day.

At Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, 115 flights were cancelled, while 63 flights could not operate from Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport. A similar situation had occurred on October 11, when 655 flights were cancelled at Riyadh Airport, accounting for approximately 98 per cent of the flights scheduled for that day.

Following the attack on October 10, flight operations at these airports were temporarily suspended on security grounds. On Sunday, 158 flights were cancelled and 393 delayed in Jeddah. Meanwhile, 58 flights were cancelled and 115 departed late from Dammam.

According to the figures, a total of 871 flights were cancelled across the three airports on October 11, while the number stood at 614 today.

The crisis has also affected air services beyond Saudi Arabia. Etihad Airways has cancelled some flights from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam until October 13. Emirates has also cancelled flights from Dubai to selected Saudi cities, while flydubai has extended the suspension of its flights to Riyadh until October 14.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Consulate in Dubai has arranged buses to help Saudi citizens stranded in the United Arab Emirates return home following the flight cancellations.