Akasa Air extends Saudi flight suspensions: Jeddah grounded until 18 November, Riyadh until 30 November
Akasa Air announced on Sunday that flights to and from Jeddah will remain suspended until 18 November and services to Riyadh until 30 November, as Indian airlines continue to keep Saudi routes grounded amid the security situation in the kingdom.
Akasa Air has extended the suspension of its flights to Saudi Arabia, keeping services to Jeddah grounded until 18 November and operations to Riyadh on hold until 30 November. The airline announced the extension on Sunday, 1 November, in a travel advisory posted on X, saying the decision followed a careful assessment of the security situation and safety conditions in the kingdom.
The advisory, timed at 14:30 Indian time, said flights to and from Jeddah would remain suspended until and including 18 November 2026, while services connecting Riyadh would remain suspended until and including 30 November 2026. Akasa said it continues to closely monitor developments and assess the situation in real time, with passenger and crew safety remaining its priority. Affected passengers may opt for a full refund, credited to the original source of payment within seven days, or reschedule their travel at no additional cost.
The Jeddah extension is the new element in Sunday’s announcement. Akasa had previously set an earlier deadline for Jeddah services, and the move to 18 November pushes that restriction back further, while the Riyadh deadline of 30 November remains unchanged. For travellers, the distinction matters: a passenger hoping to fly to Jeddah in mid-November will now have to wait longer or make other arrangements, while Riyadh travellers already faced a longer wait.
Akasa is not alone in keeping Saudi routes suspended. Air India and Air India Express announced two days earlier, on Friday, that their flights to and from Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam would remain suspended until 14 November. IndiGo has also suspended services to several Saudi destinations until the same date, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah, according to Gulf News reporting. Taken together, the announcements mean that India’s major carriers are all keeping a significant part of their Saudi networks grounded into mid-November and beyond.
The disruptions are linked to attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including airports, which Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for. In a statement on 22 October, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said one Indian national was killed and two others injured in the 21 October attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. India had also condemned attacks targeting Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, saying the targeting of civilian infrastructure was unacceptable.
For the large Indian community in Saudi Arabia, and for pilgrims travelling for Umrah, the suspensions have practical consequences that go beyond a changed departure date. Saudi Arabia hosts a large Indian expatriate population and is a major destination for Umrah pilgrims, and the Consulate General of India in Jeddah has been coordinating with airlines, local authorities and community organisations to assist affected Indian nationals and facilitate alternative travel arrangements. Passengers are being advised to check schedules before travelling, because the situation can change and because not all carriers are affected in the same way.
That last point is important. Saudi carriers continue to operate some flights to India, and the Indian Embassy had earlier said limited operations had resumed at Riyadh airport, including India-bound services operated by flynas, while Saudi carriers were operating flights from Dammam, Jeddah and Madinah. That means the picture is not a total shutdown of India-Saudi air travel, but a patchwork in which Indian carriers have paused their own services while some Saudi-operated services continue — a distinction that matters for anyone trying to rebook.
The wider context is a Gulf security situation that has also disrupted other travel. Airlines have been adjusting schedules across the region as tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel continue, and as attacks on Saudi targets have raised concerns over passenger safety. The Indian carriers’ decisions are therefore part of a broader pattern of caution, rather than isolated commercial choices, and they are likely to be reviewed again as the security assessment changes.
What happens next will depend on that assessment. Akasa has said it is monitoring developments in real time, and its advisory leaves open the possibility of further changes if the situation worsens — or of a resumption if it improves. For now, travellers with bookings to Jeddah before 18 November or to Riyadh before 30 November should assume those flights will not operate as scheduled, and should contact the airline about refunds or free rescheduling rather than waiting at the airport. The next updates from Air India, IndiGo and Akasa, due as their current suspension dates approach, will show whether the disruption is easing or extending further into the winter travel season.
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