Riyadh closure could have limited regional airfreight impact

Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport remains closed following the deadly missile strikes on the Saudi capital’s airport Oct. 9. Given only Saudia Cargo uses King Khaled (RUH) as its hub and other carriers use the airport as an endpoint in their networks, “I would expect the primary effect — for now — to be flight cancellations, rather than diversions,” Tim van Leeuwen, vice president and head of consulting at Rotate, told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_57299355" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. (Courtesy/RUH)[/caption] And that will create backlogs, he added. Data from Rotate showed inbound and outbound capacity from RUH had fallen nearly 100% week over week on Oct. 13. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation on Oct. 12 announced reopening was suspended while the airport “completes procedures to verify the safety and operational readiness of the airport’s facilities.” An active Notice to Airmen said the airport will remain closed through Oct. 17. Saudia Cargo and ASL Airlines Ireland, which operates two A330-300P2Fs (1217 and 1278) on an ACMI basis for Saudia Cargo , declined to comment. Saudia Cargo parent Saudia Group did not respond to requests for comment. Freighter disruptions The 2011-vintage unit 1272, which previously flew regularly between Riyadh (RUH), Amsterdam (AMS), Jeddah (JED) and Nairobi (NBO), has since dropped RUH from its rotations. A flight to Jeddah (JED) on Oct. 9 was diverted from RUH to Dammam, Saudi Arabia (DMM). On Oct. 13, a flight from FRA to JED was diverted to Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt (SSH). An attempt to return to RUH on Oct. 14 was diverted to JED. Meanwhile, unit 1278 — also of 2011 vintage — has seen frequent delays since Oct. 10, but has continued to fly between JED, NBO, AMS and Liege (LGG). Saudia Cargo operates four 777Fs (60337, 60338, 60339 and 60340). Those aircraft have faced consistent delays and cancellations since Oct. 10 and appear to have switched to DMM and JED on some rotations. Mike Duggan, head of cargo at Oman Air, told Cargo Facts the carrier has not seen a significant increase in demand linked to the closure of RUH. “While the airport is closed, our three daily flights to Riyadh are canceled and we are working with customers and partners to explore alternative routing options to minimize disruption,” he said. “Muscat has the infrastructure and capacity to accommodate additional cargo traffic, giving us the flexibility to adapt when regional supply chains are disrupted.” The Oct. 10 attack follows a series of airfreight disruptions in the region this year. The Iran war — and the closure of airspace across the Gulf Region — in late February and early March resulted in a 15% to 20% reduction in global cargo capacity , Cargo Facts Consulting reported in April. The war also has increased the global average price of jet fuel . Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register here .

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