Attacks in Saudi Arabia: 51 flights from Dhaka canceled, 5,418 passengers stranded

POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Oct 12, 2026 : Flights from Dhaka to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah are being canceled one after another in the wake of attacks by Yemeni group Houthis on various airports in Saudi Arabia.
Various airlines have announced the cancellation of a total of 51 flights on these three routes from Saturday to October 15.
An official in charge of security and flight management at Dhaka’s Shahjalal Airport said on Monday afternoon that the airlines have canceled these flights so far. If they cancel more flights, they will be informed immediately.
He said that 5,418 passengers of the already canceled flights are stranded in Bangladesh.
The direct flights that have been canceled include four flights of Biman, two of US-Bangla and three flights each of Riyadh Air and Saudia.
In addition, 39 transit flights have been canceled, including 16 by IndiGo, 3 by SalamAir, 1 by EgyptAir, 9 by Emirates, 5 by Qatar Airways and 5 by Flydubai.
A missile exploded at Terminal 3 of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday. Thirteen people, including two Bangladeshis, were killed and 308 injured.
The dead included four Saudis and one each from India, the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
The Houthis, in the wake of this incident, targeted King Khalid International Airport again on Sunday. In addition to killing a Pakistani expatriate, 11 people were injured.
The Houthis said they targeted the airport using ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.
The group’s military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Sari, said that oil installations in eastern Saudi Arabia and Dammam airport were also attacked.
Yahya Sari warned that all airports in Saudi Arabia, except the airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, were potential targets.
A temporary ceasefire between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition-backed Yemeni government came into effect in 2022 under UN mediation. The ceasefire expired on October 2 of that year after being extended twice.
Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-349, which flew to Dammam in Saudi Arabia and made an emergency landing in Doha, Qatar, has returned home safely via Dammam. Biman Bangladesh Airlines said this in a press release on Monday.
Flight BG-349 departed Dhaka for Dammam at 7:36 pm on Sunday. It landed in Doha after receiving news of the temporary closure of Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport en route. Then from Doha it reached Dammam. From there the aircraft reached Dhaka on Monday.
Flight BG-349 from Dhaka went to Dammam and then proceeded to Dhaka via BG-350.
In the notice, Biman said that the operations of King Fahd International Airport were normal when the flight from Dhaka to Dammam started. Later, the airport was temporarily closed.
In this situation, for the safety of passengers and flight operations, flight BG-349 landed at Doha Airport at 2:27 am Bangladesh time on Sunday. After about three hours, when Dammam Airport reopened, the flight reached Dammam at 7:02 am on Monday.
Then, the return flight BG-350 departed from Dammam to Dhaka at 9:30 am Bangladesh time on Monday. The flight landed at Shahjalal International Airport at 2:53 pm.